Some people might think that being ‘furiously happy’ is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he’s never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.”

This is part of one of Jenny Lawson’s amusing essays in her new book, “Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things.” It’s Lawson’s follow-up to her wildly popular debut, “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” and it’s receiving kudos for its frank, witty take on the dark subject of mental illness.

For most of her life Lawson has struggled with depression, anxiety, and other disorders. But this book isn’t a how-to manual on surviving mental illness; rather, Lawson uses her own experiences and pokes fun at herself as she openly discusses, in a darkly humorous way, how she copes with her mental health issues and rheumatoid arthritis, which causes chronic pain. She asserts that being “furiously happy” is about seizing good moments in life and refusing to give in, no matter what life throws at her. 

Along the way there are discussions about taxidermied giraffes and raccoons and humorous anecdotes, like the time Lawson was attacked by a mob of swans. The humor isn’t for everyone – it’s irreverent, to say the least – but the writing is always honest. By the end, you’ll agree with Lawson’s call to “Be bizarre. Be weird. Be proud of the uniquely beautiful way that you are broken.”

Books by Lawson can be found at the Kyle Public Library.