"Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson

Synopsis: Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor. Chapters include: “Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel”; “A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband”; “My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking”; “And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane.” Pictures with captions (no one would believe these things without proof) accompany the text.

My review: WARNING: Do not eat while you are reading this book!  It may cause you to choke on your food from laughing too hard.

I would say that this is the funniest book I've read so far.

This book made me feel so much better about myself and my life.  Because I am not as insane as the author.  My life is not as insane as the author's life.

Some of the scenarios depicted in this book would NEVER happen to me.  Like the snake thing.  Because no amount of money, begging, or love could convince me to go anywhere near the subject of one of my biggest phobias.  Same goes with spiders.  Seriously, some of the things Jenny describes in her book made me truly grateful for where and how I live.  I don't have to deal with a lot of the things she has.  My own life has not lacked drama but none of it to the scale that Jenny has dealt with.  Reading this book made me appreciate my own individuality and my life's current lack of drama.  My family is bland in comparison to hers so I have no right to complain.

I'm sure a lot of the things she writes about in her book were not funny at the time she was living it.  But she has written about them in a way that shows that she seems to be one of those people who can laugh off things once their over.  It's a good way to live and I'm working on being able to do that myself.  Despite some harrowing experiences, her "mostly true memoir" is pretty damn funny.  I laughed and snickered and chuckled a lot while reading this book.  I would totally recommend you read this book if you're feeling down or unhappy with your life.  Oh, and spoiler alert: she owns that mouse on the cover of the book.

Read on,
Paula