I started listening to Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, also known as the Bloggess. I read her blog infrequently, and stalk her twitter posts more often. I bought the first book, and the second in hard back. I even read the first book, though the second book has been sitting on my shelf, unread, for a while.

So when I got a free credit from Audible I took a chance to go get the Furiously Happy. I liked the original, I just tend to listen to books more often then read them lately. I don’t often have quiet moments to sit and enjoy words on a page unless I’m writing them. That’s what happens when  you’re trying to write a series…time just disappears.

But I started listening to it, and realized it was far more fun to listen to than read anyway. Jenny Lawson is funny on paper, and hysterical speaking. The fact that she’s talking about her taxidermy collection, and trying to tie socks onto the cats so they can experience a waterbed to the fullest doesn’t hurt.

But she also talks about serious things, like her mental problems, depression, and self harm. I find myself saying “yes, I know that feeling” all too many times. Hiding in the bathroom crying? Check. Hurting yourself because the pain on the outside is better than the pain on the inside? No, I did the opposite. I turned off all the emotions so I couldn’t feel anything, which was probably worse in some ways (though I bet Jenny would disagree.)

Listening to her struggles with depression, and her desire to live life furiously happy is helpful to pulling me out of the darkness sometimes. It helps that she knows what I’ve been through, and she keeps smiling and making fun of it. She keeps gathering those ridiculous stories and sharing them with everyone else. And those ridiculous stories make me want to share some of mine.