Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

 

It is hard to believe the statement that truth is stranger than fiction, but in Jenny Lawson's memoir, Let's Pretend This Never Happened  the truth is stranger and much more hilarious.  I am not exaggerating when I say that by the end of the introduction, my abs had already had a serious workout.  I really was sore the next day.  And I think I drove my husband a little crazy with the very noisy outbursts of laughter.  Seriously- a "dear sweater"?  I cannot even imagine.  Honestly, this is exactly what I needed after my last, very disappointing read. 

 

I loved the rambley (it's a word, I just made it one), convoluted nature of this book.  While it is essentially a collection of blog posts, the reader feels like she is having lunch with a friend- an unbelievable funny, slightly off-center friend that she might be nervous about introducing to other friends and certainly her children, but a friend none the less.  See look!  The rambliness (you're liking my new word, aren't you?) is contagious!  To tell the truth, I did find that a few of the emails I wrote while I was reading this book did tend to take on Lawson's voice a tiny bit.  I also love that on the very first page, Lawson acknowledges that she is sure to offend everyone with something in her book and she apologizes for it right away.  She is a little crass and the language may be offensive to some (I'm wondering if anyone has counted the number of times she uses the F-word in this book because I'm guessing it just may top four digits), but if you can get past all that you are going to love this book.

 

Lawson begins with her childhood in West Texas and what her family life was like.  She then takes us through meeting her husband and then into their life as a married couple and later as parents.  She shies away from nothing, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the crazy.  Lawson suffered multiple miscarriages and takes her readers through that difficult time.  She also struggles with anxiety and while making clear that mental illness is a serious issue, she presents it with humor. 

 

I really do recommend this book, especially if you don't mind a little crazy mixed in with your over-the-top hysterical.  At our book club meeting, one member read one chapter aloud because it was her favorite and she was nearly unintelligible because she was laughing so hard.  We decided that the whole book would be amazing as an adult read-aloud book.  Get a group of girls together (enjoy some adult beverages if that's your thing) and take turns reading it to each other.  Everyone's laughter makes it so much better.  You can also follow Jenny Lawson's blog here which is amazingly funny and how I was initially introduced to her.  And you can follow her on Pinterest.  You know that is going to be unlike any other board you follow!