9. Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Let's Pretend This Never Happened. Jenny Lawson. 2012.

.Things I thought I knew before reading this book, but definitely know beyond doubt now:

1. I do not like books that are just a compilation of blog essays. If you are going to use your blog to write you book, for goodness sake, edit them so that the book is not repetitive.  In the blog world, it is probably fine to revisit part of a previous story since your readers read the previous version months or years ago, but when I am reading your book, I promise I was paying attention the first time you told the story. I don't need to hear slightly different versions multiple times. This is what an editor is for.

2. I rarely like books read by the author.  This was no exception.  I did not enjoy her voice. I get that Judah loved the singing intros, but I did not.  On high speed, they were just extremely annoying.  

3. I am not a fan of the emerging I'm-so-crazy-laugh-at-me genre. As any follower of my book reviews knows, I do not shy away from books about hard stuff. I am drawn to books about trauma and survival, in just about every format.  But, this book (like its precursor Furiously Happy) never has a poignant moment. It just goes from one high pitched, non sequitur to another. I understand her point is probably an attempt to convey how her post-trauma, OCD, high anxiety, ADHD, hypochondriac brain functions, but somewhere in there I would have liked an occasional pause to acknowledge some deeper meaning.  She flies through life events that have obviously left her with deep wounds without ever stopping to reflect on them. I believe that even the worse things in life, like multiple miscarriages, childhood (maybe) abuse or neglect (it is hard to tell if what happened to her was abuse or neglect and whether she thinks they are because the way she tells the stories, she never puts them in any larger context that might help situate them), and debilitating neurosis can be told with humor, but to be told only with humor feels hollow and like a waste of time.  As an after-thought, she throws in an epilogue that briefly more or less says that her quirks have made her who she is and that she's glad she's been able to make it a good life, but I found it without depth or insight. It was way too little, way too late.  Again, maybe fine for a blog, but not for a book.

4. I have a really hard time with books by authors with eating disorders who are supposedly in recovery, but who continue to body shame themselves and others, perpetuate diet culture, and glorify thin bodies.  No where does she even acknowledge that this is an issue and it appears that she is doing this unaware of the impact it is likely having on readers with body image issues or eating disorders. She also says things in this flippant way that are at least marginally homophobic, racist, and just plain hurtful to some groups of people. She doesn't seem to have any self-awareness around this and I was disturbed that while it appears this is part of her stream-of-consciousness mental process, it seems like once she put it down on paper, proof-read it, and then talked to her editor about it, she might have decided to change it.

 Not recommended.
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​Recommended by Judah: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I have it on Audible.
Leah: I listened to Furiously Happy over the summer and loved it. I’ll have to add this one to my own list now!
Judah: Furiously Happy is an all time favorite. This is her first. It's more family stories. She does this annoying singing to intro the chapters but it's legit so funny I cried.
Leah: hahahahaha sounds right up my alley.

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