by Jenny Lawson
First published 2012
Jenny Lawson transforms her most cringe-worthy experiences into laugh-out-loud stories that somehow make perfect sense. She guides readers through her unconventional childhood in rural Texas, where talking squirrels seemed normal and dead alligators became travel companions. Her awkward teenage years provide endless material, as do her interactions with her patient husband Victor, who endures everything from angry Post-it note campaigns to oversharing about medical appointments. Lawson proves that our most mortifying moments actually shape who we become. She includes photographs as evidence because these stories stretch believability. Each chapter tackles a different disaster with wit and self-deprecating humor. The book shows how embracing our weirdest experiences can lead to unexpected joy and connection with others who feel equally out of place in the world.
Genres: humor, autobiography, memoir, biography-memoir, comedy
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, whimsical
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Rural Texas
Period: 21st-Century
318 pages · Hardcover · Amy Einhorn: Putnam