Jenny Lawson is one of those people that I simply cannot resist. Her books are funny as heck, and also the tiniest bit heartbreaking because of how much they resonate with me.

I enjoy Jenny Lawson's sense of humor and her candid take on the realities of life, her struggles with mental health and her day to day problems. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

Jenny Lawson is known to thousands in the online world as The Bloggess. She writes about her life and her struggles with mental health. Lawson is one of the funniest women around. Her book had me laughing out loud, trying to stifle my laughter so those around me wouldn't think I was nuts. She writes about her family also. Victor is her husband of several decades and they have a daughter.

Lawson has serious struggles with mental illnesses and with various chronic immune diseases that sometimes have her in a wheelchair. She falls into depressions and the medicines that save her life also have side effects. She is willing to do whatever it takes to fight for her health and that is admirable. She writes about what works for her and that is useful information for those who struggle with the same things.

But most people will remember the funniness. One of the best was a recounting of dumb things people have said in conversation with strangers that make them want to fall through the earth and disappear. Most can relate to this as they have done the same thing. Another hilarious chapter was the one where she was trying to tell Victor why his shop vacuum was no longer useable or why there were tiny male genitalia all over her minivan that she needed his help removing.

This was my first Jenny Lawson book and it left me with the feeling that I wanted to rush out and buy her entire backlist. She is funny and engaging and an introvert that makes other introverts feel at home. She is also honest about her illnesses and how she fights them everyday and that is an uplifting message for those in the same situation. Readers will feel seen and it would be a rare person who couldn't relate to this book which is recommended for everyone struggling with illness and just everyday life.

Jenny Lawson has such a raw, honest, yet humorous, way of detailing her struggles with her mental health. She strikes to the heart of the devastation that depression and anxiety can wreak on one’s life, but in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the reader.

3 1/2

Six or so years ago I was introduced to Jenny Lawson via her book Furiously Happy which I listened to on commutes and laughed and laughed and may have even cried a little, hopefully totally unobserved by any fellow commuters. I recommended that book because it was funny but it also dealt with some difficult subjects, most prominently the author’s struggles with depression. Broken follows in that same vein, throwing together the uproariously funny and irreverent with the solemn and sad.

The essays in Broken alternate between the madcap and the serious. Toy penises and insurance companies. A bug called a cockchafer to transcranial magnetic stimulation. While some of the essays flowed, were funny, and/or engrossing, some felt forced and some off-putting, for me at any rate.

My biggest takeaway from Broken is that Jenny Lawson’s struggles with depression and autoimmune disease will make readers who also suffer feel not so alone while perhaps finding a way to also laugh. I don’t doubt that her sense-of-humor is not for everyone because she doesn’t hesitate to sound off-the-way. If slapstick’s your thing (or one of them), you’ll probably enjoy her humor.

Her discussion regarding dealing with an insurance company was infuriating and familiar and always brings about the question of why an advanced country can’t do better.

This review is based on part of the written version and most of the audiobook. It is late and my apologies to the publishers who graciously provided me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny Lawson is a brave and unique voice -- I'm always grateful to spend time with her words. She reminds us all to tell our truth and seek out those who support and understand us.

I have read ALL her books and they are fabulous. Her humorous look at depression and anxiety is refreshing.

***I have received and voluntarily read an e – ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

I had began laughing before I ever finished the first chapter. The book really strikes home, especially as I am getting older and beginning to feel my age.

I do feel that the absent minded way in which the book was presented felt a little forced, but it really works with the material in this instance.

As always, Jenny Lawson is delightful. This is chock full of her usual mix of poignant discussions of mental health, wry humor, and dick jokes. Highly recommended.

Love Jenny, but this just became exhausting after awhile. It felt like a series of quippy quirky one-liners and not much content. Could not finish.

If you liked Jenny Lawson's last book (or follow her blog) then you're definitely going to like this one too. It had me laughing, it had me crying. I think this one did get a bit darker than the last, but what in the world hasn't? It brought to stark reality the ugliness of the American healthcare system, and her personal struggles with a list of mental and physical illnesses. But interspersed were her usual hilarious anecdotes (and bless her editors - we truly need a published work of their correspondence!)

Jenny Lawson always brings the humor, especially when it comes to her experiences with mental health. I like that she's so candid and open about it My favorite anecdotes are the ones in which she and her husband interact.

This was such a wonderful and open read about Jenny's open struggle with anxiety and other issues that affects her mindset. This book shows that anyone and everyone should be aware of how this can affect a person. If I wasn't a huge fan before, I am now.

Ms. Lawson does it again! Another spectacular book full of life's trials and struggles but written in a charming way.

It takes a lot of skill and a lot of grace to be authentically funny when describing such physical and emotional pain. Jenny Lawson speaks what so many of us think and feel. I love her for it.

I love Jenny Lawson’s books. She writes about mental illness and physical struggles with humor, compassion and her own personal insight.

We need authors who are willing to open up about this difficult topic and she does this in all her books in such a way that you feel like you know her and can relate to a lot of her stories, therefore, knowing you are not alone in this struggle.

Some may not enjoy the combination of mental illness and humor, but as someone that suffers from this medical condition, you have to learn to laugh to survive!! I recommend all her books every chance I get.

I love Jenny Lawson. I do, and this probably colors my expectations and experiences with her books. But how can you not love someone who deals with so much personal pain and manages to share it with the world in a way that is both meaningful and humorous.

Long before I read my first Jenny Lawson book, I followed her blog. Her voice consistently carries over from The Bloggess, through each of her books, including Broken. She welcomes you into her life and talks to you like a friend.

Separating the book from the author is very difficult for me, especially in cases like these where the book is the author. Every page, every vignette, is a piece of the author’s life, shared openly for all to view in it’s messiness. She brings the reader inside the world of invisible illnesses and breaks it down in ways anyone can understand. And for those of us who live in that world ourselves, she helps us to feel understood, and like we aren’t alone. Granted, we aren’t all into taxidermy.

Broken (in the best possible way) is my favorite Jenny Lawson book so far. I think it is the most honest book I’ve ever read (and I read a lot of books). I laughed a lot and I cried as well when reading this book. And I recommended it to everyone I know who would appreciate all that this amazing woman is.

I will read anything Jenney Lawson writes… even her grocery lists should she choose to publish them.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jenny Lawson never disappoints! She writes with such humor, compassion and insight. It’s inspirational to read about a woman who has accomplished so much in her life even as she suffers from crippling mental illness.

One thing I can always count on Jenny Lawson for is a good laugh! This book was a bit surprising to me as this time she mixed a good laugh with some very real discussions surrounding mental health. I really appreciated her approach in tackling both of these topics together.

One scene from this book that I will always remember is how she is notorious for losing shoes. I would be a liar if I didn't say that this also happens to me often so I felt myself nodding, "yep, me too girl, me too."

I highly recommend listening in via audio as well as Jenny herself reads the book to you.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for allowing me to read a copy of this book!

Jenny Lawson writes about a lot of things in her latest release. Such as:

Holes in her brain
Fucked up feet
Dog’s vagina
Getting stuck
Non sequiturs
Truisms
Insurance
Convos with Victor and Lisa and Hailey
Being an introvert
Doctors and dentists
Pets
Marriage
Vagina lasers
Cooking and cleaning
Buttons
Bags of dicks
Pets (but sadly none of the undead variety)

And depression/anxiety/mental illness. I appreciate that Lawson has become a spokesperson of sorts for subject matter that has been NOT discussed openly pretty much ever, but I am here for the funny. I battle my own inner demons on the regular so I pick up books like this as an escape. It doesn’t help that Lawson comes off as a real one percenter sometimes either. Being able to afford treatment at all is a luxury for many. Feeling better enough to tackle a trip to Europe is nothing but a dream for most - financially if not emotionally. While Lawson still comes off very authentic, unfortunately she’s not always very relatable. I think maybe I need an entire book filled with mortifying moments. Here's one of my own …

I’m going to go ahead and tell y’all a little story about how I came to find @thebloggess because we are obviously kindred spirits with our affinity for dead critters and also because my favorite part of this latest release was hands down the public shaming of ourselves on the interwebs. Okay so about a billion and a half years ago this really not newfangled invention known as the interwebs was finally rolled out for staff at the company I worked for. While it was given to us in order to conduct any legal research that may have been requested, obviously we did not use it for work at all. I got the bright idea to do look for some sportsball paraphernalia that the children needed and typed in what any normal sporting goods store patron in the Midwest would – “dicks.com.” Now as I mentioned above, this World Wide Web was a new thang for our law firm and therefore no firewalls had been implemented. Spam blockers weren’t being utilized either. So when I say I absolutely DID NOT get the correct Dicks – I mean to tell you I. ABSOLUTELY. DID. NOT. and thanks to zero dollars having been spent on reducing pop-up advertising I did not get one site containing the wrong dicks, I got about 147 of them simultaneously. And then I couldn’t figure out how to turn down the sound because speakers had literally never been necessary in the history of ever before that moment. Oh and I worked directly across from Human Resources. #employeeoftheyear

Mitchell says I need to stop being such a crybaby bitch and most people probably can’t relate to collecting dead shit and yet somehow I do so I should STFU and give this 5 Stars. That Mitchell, always a helper.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!