FURIOUSLY HAPPY. And scared. And back to happy again.

in FURIOUSLY HAPPY, terrifying news

If you’ve been here long enough you know I’ve been working on my second book for the last three years.  I’ve carried it with me every day, adding a paragraph here, deleting another there, reworking a sentence for the eleventieth time because I want it to be perfect, always feeling like a loser because Stephen King and cocaine set unrealistic expectations about how easy it should be to write a book.  If you know me in real life you’ve seen me lugging around a giant manuscript and scribbling furiously in it when inspiration strikes.  You may have asked me why I don’t just use a laptop and then nodded in what you hoped passed for understanding when I explained that I was afraid I’d lose everything I’ve written when the robot revolution happens and computers become self-aware and refuse to humor me anymore because I wasted their potential watching videos of baby hedgehogs in bathtubs.

When I was deciding what to write about for book two my first thought was “SPARKLY MALE VAMPIRES WHO ARE PRETTIER THAN YOU versus ZOMBIE FAINTING GOATS, IN THE BATTLE FOR BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH’S HEART”.  Then Victor was like, “What are you, crazy?” and I thought, Well, sort of.  And that’d probably be easier to write about since I have slightly more experience dealing with mental illness than I have dealing with goats.

And so began a terrifying and incredibly daunting task of writing a very funny book about a very terrible thing.

This book was hard. I wanted to be honest about my struggles — and that means opening up about things I’ve never really discussed before. And it was hard. But luckily, I had help. From you.

When I came out so many years ago about my depression and anxiety disorder I was afraid you’d all run away screaming. But you didn’t. Instead, thousands of you said “Me too,” and “I thought I was the only one,” and “It’s not just me?” You gave me the strength to be honest about my flaws and the support to realize that I was more than the broken parts that make up me. And you did something else you might not even realize…

In the years since I started writing about mental illness I’ve received so many letters from people who were affected by this community, but there were special ones I kept in a folder that I named “The Folder of 24.” – It was called that because it contained 24 letters from people who were actively planning their suicide, but decided to get help instead. And not because of what I said…they did it because of you. Almost every single one explained that what convinced them that depression was lying to them was the amazing response to my posts. They could look at a single person like me and think it was still a rare illness or something to be ashamed about…but when thousands of strangers shout out into the darkness that they are there too, it makes ripples. And those anonymous strangers saved lives without even knowing it. If you ever left a comment or a kind word you may have been the cause of someone’s mother or daughter or son being alive. Being thankful to be alive.

When I was on tour with my last book I’d sometimes talk about the Folder of 24 and how that folder is the best reason I’ll ever have for writing. And then something strange happened.  After a reading people would lean in close and whisper “I was 25.”

There were so many 25’s.

This was what I went back to whenever writing this new book got too hard. Because I knew that to truly write about what it’s like to struggle with mental illness I’d have to go deeper and talk about things I haven’t written about, for fear that everyone would back away if I talked about self-harm, or mania, or the personality disorder that pushes me from “normal” crazy to something a bit scarier.

I wrote and deleted and rewrote passages, and I’m still afraid of how people will react. I’m in the exact same place I was seven years ago…afraid to share but unable to tell my story without laying it all out. And so I’ll do the same thing I did before. Because I don’t have any other choice but to be myself, and hopefully you’ll still be here in the same wonderful way you have been.

I hope you’ll come with me on the next step of the journey. I hope you’ll see yourself, or someone you love, in these pages and learn to love them better. I hope it shows people that laughter and joy can come from chaotic bizarreness. I hope you know how much you’ve helped me to become my own 25.

This is a humor book and I’ve been told that it’s funnier than my last. Most of the people who’ve read it don’t have mental illness. Certainly none of them have my specific diagnosis, but they still loved it because I think everyone can relate to the ridiculousness we bring on ourselves, to the fact that laughing at a dangerous, terrifying monster is the only way to make it small and easier to hide in your pocket.

I think everyone can relate to the fact that a ton of bullshit happens every single day and the only way we can battle that bullshit is choose to be furiously happy whenever we have the opportunity. That means different things to different people, but to me it’s about making clothes out of live ferrets, making the best of it when you get kidnapped by an actual funeral, and occasionally balancing your taxidermy raccoon on the back of your cats to create a Midnight Raccoon Rodeo in your kitchen when you’re having one of those weeks where you’re afraid to leave your house.

It also means celebrating the fact that I HAVE FINISHED THE BOOK.   AAAAAAHHHHHH!  Sorry.  Just happy.

Step two was choosing a book cover, but my last book cover had a dead mouse on it and that level of sophistication is pretty hard to top. How do you get a book cover that captures the celebration of being broken in just the right way? My suggestion was to use a model who literally went from being road kill to being the star rodeo rider during my recurring bouts of insomnia.

Any you know what? I think we nailed it.

furiously happy

(That’s Rory, by the way. He’s in the book.)

I hope to God you love it.

Rory and I love you.

PS. Want details on when it comes out and where to order it right now? CLICK HERE.

PPS. Thank you.  Again.   Seriously. You made this happen. (Which I guess sort of means it’s your fault if you hate it. Just saying.)

781 thoughts on “FURIOUSLY HAPPY. And scared. And back to happy again.”

Read comments below or add one.

  2. I already love your book based on the cover alone. Yes, I WILL in fact judge a book based sole on its cover. Also, because the content inside is by you then I am DOUBLY sure that I will love it.

  4. throws confetti
    feels bad about the mess
    sweeps up
    stuffs dustpan contents behind Rory

    Congratulations, darling! And thank you for all you do and say and write. Thank you for speaking out. Thank you for helping us laugh when we want to cry. So many thank yous.

  5. Wow, this post gave me chills and goosebumps and I cannot wait to read your next book! AND PLEASE tell me that cover is not an April Fool’s joke because I love it too much for it to not be real.

  9. i didn’t even read it, just scrolled down to be FURIOUSLY HAPPY!!!
    For you and for us. Can’t wait!
    Ok, now I’ll actually read the post. xo

  10. That cover is seriously the greatest thing ever. Congrats on finishing it and can’t wait to read it!

  11. Other books I’m reading? What other books I’m reading?? Can’t wait lady!!

  12. So excited!!! Pre-ordered it through Amazon Smile so Project Night Night will get a donation. 🙂

  15. I’m so crazy excited (no pun intended) to read this book. You and your tribe are an inspiration. Love you.

  16. Oh my goodness what a great series of words all put together in a brilliant and endearing way. I want to read this book of yours. (And actually the one before too.) x

  17. I already pre ordered! I am so excited for you and excited to read another one of your books! This made my day!

  18. Part of me is afraid to read it, part of me wishes I could share to my friends, part of me is so happy that you’re so happy, and part of me is marveling at the fact I have so many parts.

  20. Yaaayyy!!!! I’m so excited for you!! And I CANNOT WAIT TO READ IT!! Eeee!!!

  21. You are so amazing Jenny! “If I could give you one thing, it would be to see you through my eyes, then you would see how amazing you really are.” I gotta go get that book, and I can finally finish your first one (I didn’t want it to be over)

  22. I see that in your new book you discuss an attack by swans. I too was once attacked by a swan and to this day when I see their graceful necks and tiny eyes I feel the evil coming from them in waves.

    (THANK YOU. No one ever realizes the dark menace those things are. ~ Jenny)

  24. I can’t even tell you how much I love the title…FURIOUSLY HAPPY is perfect. And Rory is awesome. Pre-ordered and ready for my surprise in September!

  25. Furiously happy and a little teary. It is wonderful to find a place where people get you. Thank you for making that place. Can’t wait to buy the book!!!

  27. Can’t wait! Don’t know if you remember who I am but you have helped me tremendously. Except “tremendously” isn’t a big enough word to describe it. Maybe I can make one up? Is the back cover going to have the picture of you laying in your empty swimming pool? Love that one…

  28. Best book cover ever! Congratulations!! Furiously Excited to read your next book!

  29. yes!!!!!
    I’ve been a “me too” for years and laughing through chaos has saved me many times. I can’t wait to read this.

  31. I’m sitting here trying not to cry at work. I wish all the best for the 24 and all of the 25s out there. You are not alone!

    I can’t wait to read the book!

  32. I think you are unlocking an entirely new realm that is overdue and dearly needed for so many. There is safety and acceptance, and dammit, there is laughter. Because of you. Plus taxidermy. Thank you, you sparkling, radiant wonder, you!

  33. Congratulations! I can’t wait to read it! Your writing has meant so much to me over the years.

  35. You’re so beautiful and amazing Jenny Lawson! ! I’m sitting here bawling my eyes out because of all the wonder and awesomeness you bring to the world. Thank you for saying the things I’m too scared to say. You rocK and I can’t wait to read your book!! <3

  36. This is the best news ever!!! I, too, hope this is not an April Fools’ joke. Also, I love the concept of “furiously happy,” that is going to stay with me.

  40. Is that glitter or confetti? Either way I HATE IT in real life. LOVE IT on the cover.

    (Confetti AND glitter. And I hate them in real life too. There’s an entire chapter about it which makes the cover even more perfect. ~ Jenny)

  41. Hurray!!!! And of course I saw the cover and reflex made me say ‘We are Groot’

    I’ll just go drink some more tea now…

  42. PREORDERED! I AM SO EXCITED IN ALL CAPS!

    Thanks you so much for sharing this personal journey and for being able to say with humor all the things I feel but am too lazy and scared to write. You are awesome.

  43. I love the book cover….and I got goosebumps reading this post. The depressionLies hashtag on twitter, which I think started because of you, has helped me more than once. So thank you. And thank you for being brave enough to share your experiences. You will never know just how many people this has helped, and saved. I can’t wait to read the book.

  44. Congratulations on finishing the book! I can’t wait to read it and I freaking love the cover.

  45. Congratulations on the finish. I know I am a part of a huge audience who loved your first book and look forward to loving this one even more. And the raccoon is fantastic!

  46. I keep your first book on my nightstand and reread chapters when I the meds aren’t working – it never fails! Your new one will be just as great! I may need a bigger nightstand.

  47. Not about the book, but about the subject.
    Ish.

    My latest tattoo was three words on the inside of my right hand: NEVER NOT BROKEN

    You helped me figure that out.
    And to figure out that is wasn’t a bad thing.

  48. You’re so beautiful and amazing Jenny Lawson! ! I’m sitting here bawling my eyes out because of all the wonder and awesomeness you bring to the world. Thank you for saying the things I’m too scared to say. You rocK and I can’t wait to read your book!! <3

  49. LOVE the cover. Happy for you. As soon as A.mazon puts it in the Kindle store I’ll get it. Because it is my way to show my appreciation. And because I can use some fun.

  52. Standing…waving my hands in the air like I just don’t care and shaking my booty in time too! There is just no way I can wait until September! So obviously…just can’t wait to read it! Congrats!

  53. Yay!!!!!! Another book I can devour in a matter of hours with make-up tears running down my cheeks while my fiancé stares at me awkwardly wondering wtf is going on!!!!

    I am also making the choice to be furiously happy any day I can.., and I’m so happy for you Jenny and for the rest of us who have all found our people thanks to you!!

  54. We’ve got your back, Jenny. Thanks in advance of reading it for writing it. I can’t imagine how difficult and scary writing this book has been. I’m all smiles and teary eyed at the same time. Congratulations! I love the cover. Off to pre-order……

  55. Aaaaaaah! I am furiously happy this is coming out! I am ordering it right now! I am waaaaay too excited and using far to many exclamation points!!!!!

  57. Yay! Can’t wait to read it and add it to my list of travel essentials. Book number one is on the list between “mosquito net” and “water purifier”. I see a space for Book 2 between “bourbon” and “neck pillow”.

  59. YAY!!!
    preorders 7 copies
    (I know I’ll be giving it to so many people!)

    And YES – what SaraBeth said! I think you need to use this for the tour. It’s not ‘a reading’ or ‘an evening with The Bloggess’ it’s a RACCOON GLITTER DANCE PARTY!! Wheeeee!!

    One serious note – thank you, honestly, for doing the incredibly hard work to write this, for us, and for those who need us and don’t yet know we’re here. ❤️

  61. Ah hell. I didn’t expect to cry when I read your post this morning. The feels! Also? You nailed the book cover. Perfect. Thank you for being a voice for so many.

  63. Amen sister friend!! It is due to the openness and raw honesty of bloggers like you, Jen at Epbot, and Allie Brosh at Hyperbole and a half that I was able to recognize, deal with, and be honest about my panic attacks when they started a few years ago. Thank you thank you thank you. Can’t wait to read the new book. I am sure it is every bit as funny and wonderful as your first book. I hope I get to see you again on this book tour. Took now hubby then boyfriend to your book signing in Boston and he became a fan as well. We were honored to meet and talk to you. Furiously happy. For life. 🙂

  64. I can’t wait! And thank you for being brave, and for helping me be brave, and for helping us all help each other to be brave. You rock!

  65. I loved your first book and can’t wait to read this one!

    I guess I don’t have anything else to say, just wanted to let you know I am excited

  66. I got chills reading about your new book, Jenny. I can’t wait to read it. Thank you for opening up so that others can too.

  69. The cover is completely and totally PERFECT!! I LOVE it and can’t wait to read it. You are such an inspiration!!

  70. Thanks, Jenny. Thanks for helping so many people. All best wishes with the book and congratulations on finishing it! It was probably getting heavy to lug around.

  72. I am a truck driver. Love you and wondering how long till the audio book will be available? And will you do the reading?

    (Working on that right now. I think it’ll come out at the same time the book will. And I’m totally doing the reading. ~ Jenny)

  73. Not quite a 25, but definitely a “Me too”. I am so thankful for your blog and the wonderful crazy tribe you’ve created. Also super excited for the new book — can’t wait to meet Rory 🙂

  74. Jenny,

    I cried when I read this. I used to be a cutter. Was for many years. High school all the way up into my early 20’s … and I won’t lie now and say that I don’t still struggle with the impulse. If anything else, I don’t think I’ve eliminated the compulsion for self-harm as much as that it comes out in other ways. And to the VAST majority of my friends, I look well-adjusted. Isn’t that the joke?? Honestly, I think the only thing that has REALLY kept me from hurting myself in overt ways when I’m stressed (because I’d always ALWAYS rather turn my anxiety and pain inward rather than outward) is that I don’t want to set this example for my daughter. I couldn’t bear to see those beautiful arms of hers scarred like mine are. I’d become roadkill before I’d allow that to happen.

    So … yeah. I get it. No know how hard it is.

  76. So excited, and just THANK YOU so much. Ripples and ripples across oceans and streams alike.

  78. My hubby has severe depression and anxiety and you’re writing about mental illness has helped me better understand what he goes through and what I can do to help. I read your last book out-loud and we loved it. Thanks for writing another one. Pre-ordered our copy!

  79. Congratulations!
    And thank you, both because I love to luxuriate in a deep To Read list that stretches infinitely into the future, and you’ve just added to mine, AND, more importantly, because I want so badly to be a good best friend to my Since Childhood Best Girl as she struggles with mental illness, and there’s still so much that I don’t understand. Thank you for talking about the things that she doesn’t want to.

  80. Just finished your first book and all I can say is Hahahahahahaha! It was the most fun I have had in years. Since I too feel suicidal fairly regularly and manage it by laughing at myself and everything else, I was totally on board. Can’t wait until I get your new one. I have told everyone I know to read your books. The world needs you!! Thanks!!

  81. Is that Rocket Raccoon on the cover?

    (That’s Rory and he’s even better than Rocket because he’ll snuggle you at night and scratch out the eyes of burglars if you use him as a weapon. ~ Jenny)

  83. #teambloggess #teamrory #teamgravyforeveryone!!!!!!!!!!!! this blog and your first book were my proof that out there was my tribe!

  85. Congratulations! You finished it! Hooray! I can’t wait to read it! I KNOW it will top the last one, even though that seems impossible.

  86. OH I can’t believe I left out Wil Wheaton in my previous comment. He is a huge inspiration for me too!!

  87. As a proud member of this tribe, please allow me to say how proud I am at how many emotional/physical/spiritual Thunderdomes you had to conquer in order to get to this place. I am so proud of you ! RESPECT !!!

  88. Hooray!! I – and my library – cannot WAIT for this book to be here!
    And don’t worry. We’ll all still love you after we read it. Well, except for those you kill because you KNOW there will be a few who rupture guts while laughing and won’t get to the hospital in time because: Just one more page…and they’ll die. They may not love you anymore. Their families sure won’t. But the rest of us will.

  93. I haven’t been this excited about a book since…. Actually probably sine your last book came out. Thanks for sharing your story. It makes it easier to share mine. And sharing makes it easier to bear. You’re magnificent. Never stop being you.

  95. Hey Jenny. Although I don’t suffer from mental illness, my partner does, as do and did many family members through the years. Thank you, for your honesty and open attitude about your struggles as it helps me understand that much more the people who I share my life with.

  97. Oh my… That cover is freakin’ PERFECT for your book. And the book itself sounds wonderful. You can bet your booty I’ll be preordering the heck out of that thing!

  98. Congratulations!! I can only imagine how scary and yet amazing it is to have it done and on it’s way into the world. 🙂

  99. Can I squishy huggle you now?

    I’ve read many books over the years, but none have made me feel like I know its writer in such a personal more than your book. We’ve never had a conversation or texted each other or sent each other goofy Facebook stickers and yet I see this spark I you that is hard to ignore. I’m so glad that you are WILLING TO FIGHT those inner demons because I think you have so much more to offer the world with your funny, snarky, bawdy words. (I’m sorry to make this a rah-rah pep talk, I just think a few kind words can go a really long way!)

    Admitting that we hurt, that we have self doubt, that we feel smaller than our demons is like admitting weakness and that’s hard to do. We’re not defeated though! We’re all just people dealing with SHIT! I went through my own phase, still have really rough moments and few people know that many nights I cried myself to sleep because certain dreams were so far out of my reach. I am truly touched by your post because while it sucks donkey balls that we’ve all been there, there’s comfort in knowing others understand. I’m amazed that so many of your readers were affected in such positive, life saving ways 🙂 That’s pretty freaking awesome!

    I love this post! I love the new book cover and you can definitely count on me to get a copy!

  100. I’ve never been in danger of being a ’25’. And that is very nearly true..however, you have helped tremendously. It’s good to not be alone. Anxiety and depression are dicks.

  101. Can’t wait to read it! (Damn it! September is so far away). I’ll have to order two, cause last time my cousin stole your book, so this time I’ll be prepared, I’ll have one to lend and one jus for me. Furiously exited!

  102. Reblogged this on CrossRoadTrippers and commented:

    As someone who deals with depression and anxiety, I’ve always loved the way Jenny Lawson makes me feel pretty normal. Oh yeah, and awesome. BUY HER BOOK! I know how hard it had to be to write!

  104. I would totally have read “SPARKLY MALE VAMPIRES WHO ARE PRETTIER THAN YOU” OR “ZOMBIE FAINTING GOATS, IN THE BATTLE FOR BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH’S HEART”. 🙂 Seriously. SERIOUSLY.

    Of course, I am seriously looking forward to the new book too. 🙂

  105. Beautiful. Wonderful. I’m so happy for you. And for everyone in the Folder of 24. And for every 25 who ever found hope in this Oasis on the Internet. I love your story. I love what you do. And I love this community right here.

  107. Bravo! It’s been a wonderful journey with you and I can’t wait to see what the future is like!
    Thank you for making a horrible disease more bearable-the book cover is absolutely FABULOUS and I can’t wait to read it! xo

  108. Some of the best therapy has come from shared experience and the Internet is the greatest way to connect. Thanks for sharing the crazy and tiring ride that is mental disorders. And congratulations on finishing the new book. Love the cover.

  109. Three years have passed since ‘Let’s pretend’,.. My gutts are churning even more than they have done at the hope if another literacy delight since then!
    I have GAD,suffered for years, my daughter has just been diagnosed (after years if Bi-polar meds) with BPD after any of struggles ‘Furiously happy’ is my light at the end of a three year tunnel!… I can’t freekin wait!!!
    Congratulations Jenny!!!!! Xxx

  110. Day made. You are amazing…can’t wait to see you on the next tour!

  111. I am all muppet arms and furiously happy. As soon as the cats wake up, they will do a dance of joy for you. Thank you from one of your tribe. Going to preorder asap.

  113. Already pre-ordered. But, when you get a chance, could you please, please, please write that first novel about the goats and vampires and Benedict Cumberbatch because I will read the shit out of that one too.

  116. Thank you , thank you, thank you. Your blog and your book are my go-to life preservers when I want to curl up into a ball in the corner. You make me laugh instead of cry, and that’s a wonderful gift. You are wonderful.

  117. Furiously happy for you — it is one of the most awesome events to have a book published and I applaud you for working so hard to get your life out there for others to read about.

  118. Ahhhhh! I’m so excited to read it! #teamanxiety #teamdepression #teamawesome

  119. Congrats!! Can’t wait to read it and hopefully you’ll do a book signing somewhere near Baltimore or DC so I can get you to draw a crazy pic of a cow or a racoon.

  121. your post made me cry . . . i didn’t even realize how much you and your zany followers mean to me until I started crying . . . . OMG, thanks . . . I am one of your 25.

  122. I’ve only recently found your blog and Twitter, so I had no idea this was a topic of your community. Anytime I discover that an author I enjoy is going to write honestly about something that has affected me, I get excited. So I immediately pre-ordered (something I don’t often do, especially so far ahead of release date). The cover nailed it, and I can’t wait to read!

  124. I’m so excited! I can’t wait! Congratulations on having the courage to put it all down, then put it out there. I’m not a 25, but I know they’re out there, and love that what you do keeps so many 25s still with us today. Thank you.

  125. that laughing at a dangerous, terrifying monster is the only way to make it small and easier to hide in your pocket.

    pulls out wand aims at boggart “Riddikulus!”

    Hilarious cover, by the way. Nailed. It.

  126. You’ve helped me to be a better friend to my best friend in her darker times, how to not take it personally and how to be there for her. You’ve helped me through my own small ups and downs that felt monumental while I was in them. Thank you for sharing and being brave. I can’t wait to read your new book. The cover is hilarious and perfect!

  128. So freaking fantastic! Pre-ordered! Because I love your idea of getting a surprise gift for myself when the book is released. Thanks for bringing off-kilter amazingness to our days.

  130. I just preordered on Amazon. I loved your first book and can’t wait for your second one. I really hope you do a book tour and come to Arizona again (Maybe Chandler this time, instead of Tempe…and not during monsoon season) Although I messed up last year and almost wasn’t here today, I too am a 25. Imagine that, I would have missed out on your second book.

  131. Congratulations!! Seriously, thank you so much for all you do. I’ve struggled with severe anxiety and depression for years. I could never really tell anyone about it because I literally didn’t have the words to express what I was going though. Then I found your blog and then your book. I started using your words to express my struggles, and through that, I was able to find my own words. I got help, and I’m getting better. I feel so much less isolated and alone now. Thank you!

  132. Preordered!!! I can’t wait to read it!!!! You are amazing… and I love you!!!

  134. congratulations.
    congratulations for finishing the book…congratulations for powering through the darkness…congratulations for realizing that depression lies…congratulations for everything.
    i am wildly happy for you. can’t wait to read it!

  135. Happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy! (and still medicated for clinical depression.) So happy. Thank you for EVERYTHING.

  136. Just pre-ordered a hardback AND a kindle copy. Because for your last book I realized after I had the hard copy that I needed to have it with me at all times and bought in on kindle. And I JUST finished re-reading it like 5 days ago. And since it made me laugh out loud AGAIN, I think I waited the perfect amount of time between readings. And THANK YOU.

  137. I kept my husband up at night because I was reading in bed and laughing so hard at what he called “The Crazy Lady Dead Mouse Book,” and I’m super excited to (a) read the new one and (b) see what in the world he’s going to call it. Thanks for sharing your gift with the world.

  138. Thank you. There aren’t words to tell you how grateful I am that all of you exist. You made me laugh and cry but in just the right way. I never would have imagined that one day I’d actually be glad to be a bit broken. It’s worth it to be part of this strange tribe of wonderful misfits.

  139. This better not be an april fools joke, cos that would be so mean! giggles I can’t wait to get a signed copy of the new book! squishy hugs

    (I SWEAR TO GOD IT’S NOT AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE. ~ Jenny)

  141. Oh maaaaan it’s so long until September! Your first book is my go-to for when I need to read something to distract me from the horrors of the world and can’t get my brain to settle down for anything else. I re-read it sitting in the hospital for 8 hours waiting to have a needle stuck in my eye, and I re-read it when I was unemployed. I have mashed the pre-order button so hard. Cannot wait. Congrats!

  142. Great cover. On brand. You know, on brand with the dead-but-animated-animals. Plus, people are still riding a high from Guardians of the Galaxy and a gun-wielding raccoon.

  143. I have just pre-ordered this for my Kindle through Amazon UK. Hooray! But how am I going to wait until 24th September???

  145. When you posted last night, I was soooo hoping it was this.
    Thank you. You are an inspiration. A wonderful fucked-up inspiration.

  146. Bravo, bravo bravo! Here’s to soldiering against all things doom-y. cheers.

  147. I never preorder books. I preordered yours, because duh the last one made me laugh out loud which books never do. 🙂 Thanks for being you, being honest, and showing us how to laugh in the face of, well, everything.

  149. Congratulations, Jenny!! You are wonderful and amazing, and I’ve adored reading your blog for the last several years. My father unfortunately was not part of the 24, but reading your thoughts and words has helped me heal and maybe partially kind of understand his pain and struggle and for that I am eternally grateful. Now please excuse me as I go pre-order your book! xoxo

  150. Congratulations! Thank you so much for shining a light on a dark subject and helping those of us who suffer feel less alone. Can’t wait to read your new book

  152. PREORDERED!

    And probably will order more copies. And will hope with all of my being that you come to chicago on a book tour so I can get another copy signed. And so I can say thank you for letting us be #25 right along with you.

  153. Congrats, you’re my first…I’ve never pre-ordered a book until just a few minutes ago, when I ordered yours. Please know that I take great joy in telling my husband things about you that start with “you know that woman in Texas with the giant chicken?”. He just nods his head…smile.

  154. To me, you are a hero. I love the way you write and I adore the fine woman that you are. Thank you for your brave, brave honesty. And thank heavens for you!

  155. Done and done! Congratulations, Jenny, on the fruition of all your hard work! And congratulations to all those who fight against that asshole depression.

  158. “or the personality disorder that pushes me from ‘normal’ crazy to something a bit scarier.”

    I got to that line and had to stop reading because I live that every day. But especially so today on the 6th anniversary of my older brother’s suicide.

  159. I’m having a little bit of a heartattack! I am sooo furiously happy about the coming of this book. I feel like one day I’ll be sad and I’ll get home and my book will be there and I will have sort of forgotten I ordered it and it will just be there. Right when I need it. So thanks, in advance.

  161. Preorder….check
    Ok book cover…..check
    Having something to look forward to….check check
    Thanks for being our voice! 💛💙💜💚❤

  162. Once again I will not only buy one for myself but also have copies sent to friends’ houses as a surprise ^_^

  163. Wow, I was so happy to see the news of the finished book, and then you made me cry with the Folder of 24, and then the cover featuring Rory made me laugh. This post is one hell of an emotional roller-coaster.

  164. Bravo! I am really looking forward to this book. And if it makes any difference (and if you happen to be reading this), I’ll continue to read you no matter what. Thank you for having the courage to share. Much love to you, Jenny.

  165. You are awesome and brave and wonderful! As are all the 25 out there. Thank you! Can’t wait to read the new book!

  166. Pre-Ordered! I need to come back later on to read the comments. I read one or two and started to tear up at my desk. I am only allowed to cry at my desk about my own failed relationships.

    And to the person who mentioned glitter. Glitter is evil! Sawdust is man glitter.

  168. Best news I have heard all year. I cannot wait for the new book, in all its glittery, taxidermied awesomeness.

    Thank you for being you. Same goes for this whole tribe.
    -Another 25

  171. Congratulations on finishing the book! I enjoy your blog and, although I don’t struggle with mental illness myself, you help me understand (and manage to do it with humor and compassion) . Thank you!
    I’ll just add: you are all that and a bag of chips 🙂

  172. Thanks for shining a bright light into dark places. You have a great way of making the monsters in the closet transform into weird and yet manageable traveling companions.

  173. Are you going to do signed book plates for this one? I would really love one!

    (Working on a plan for that now. Check back later to see if I’ll succeed. ~ Jenny)

  174. Hurray!! THis makes me FURIOUSLY HAPPY! I really really really you do another book tour, and come home to San Angelo (so I can drive 200 miles to come see you again!)

  175. I think i love you a little bit.
    Not just for being the savour to so many 25’s, but for doing it by being you – every part of you. The happy, the sad, the taxidermy mad. It was you that created this community of amazing people, and whilst I do not have depression – I know exactly where i’d come if i did.

    But this better not be an April Fools or I will seriously reconsider my feelings for you.
    That cover is PERFECT. x

  176. Just pre-ordered! Cannot wait. And thank you for everything you’ve done. This may sound negative but it isn’t- You have no idea how large the impact you have had is. I know you see what is reflected back at you but there is a ton more out here that we take in quietly and reflect back in our own lives too. You have loudly impacted a lot of people including the folder of 24, and you have quietly impacted a lot more as well. With your honesty, your support, and your love you share with us- you are a force of nature.

    Ps. Swans are assholes!

  177. I tried last July. Been a long, painful road since. Thank you for helping me to feel better about my broken parts. I’m a 25 to. Thank you for helping me to find a smile.

  178. I am home in bed, anxiously awaiting my afternoon psychiatry appointment. I’m recovering from (another) failed suicide attempt (thank gods it failed) after (another) episode of my bipolar brain telling me I’m not bipolar and don’t need my meds. It’s so difficult to explain to people how much my brain hates me and how to live inside a head that is so Jeckyl and Hyde. I’ve found my best armour to be honesty and my favorite weapon is sarcasm. Thank you for making art out of the roadkill and this gloriously hideous road.

    (I’m so glad you’re still here. It sucks to live with a sickness that tries to murder you. But you’re still alive. You’re a survivor. Don’t listen to the lies depression tells you and I’ll promise to try to do the same. ~ Jenny)

  179. Thank god. I’ve been needing a new Jenny Lawson book in my life, because the blog and twitter and facebook cannot be enough. MUST. HAVE. MORE.

    (that sounds more stalkerish than I intended, sorry. You’re safe.)

  180. You nailed it with Rory!! I.Can’t.Wait. Thank you for helping me moved forward on days I desperatly want to stop.

  181. Wish I was in this community when I tried, and failed, to die 8 times. Today I AM furiously happy! Still battling with mental illness, but not even close to wanting to die. I truly think we have the upper hand at humor. It’s what saves us everyday. You’ve saved many a 25 and will continue to do so. Thanks for sharing you. You f’ing rock!

  183. Thank you. Thank you for making me feel less psycho for making terrible jokes about terrible things, because if I didn’t, I don’t think I would have been able to cope with the terrible things.

  184. I’m “Furiously Happy” to get to read this book. I once PM’d (is that the right way to abbreviate “private messaged”? And I’m pretty sure that just negated the need for an abbreviation) you on facebook about how to explain to my mom that I can’t always just choose to be in a good mood and/or roll with the punches, that depression isn’t something I choose. You didn’t respond, but that’s TOTALLY OK! Because just knowing that I could say those things to someone who gets it made the difference. Thanks for being you Jenny Lawson, mental illness baggage and all!

    (True story: I don’t know how to respond on Facebook. If I could disable Facebook emails I would. I look at them but when I try to respond they disappear. Even when I send Facebook responses I add a thing saying to email me because Facebook mail hates me. 🙂 ~ Jenny)

  185. So excited about your new book. I read your first one last month and I felt so relieved that someone else had similar struggles to me. I am looking forward to reading it and loving it as much if not more than your first one.

  186. I will absolutely pre-order. Can’t wait to be seen on an airplane with a book with a manic raccoon on the cover.

    And if you tour again, I’ll be there. I still look fondly on the photo with you in San Rafael where you are blinking because you are blinded by my cleavage. Or the pink and green ensemble I was wearing. Hard to know.

  187. Laurie | April 1, 2015 at 9:21 am
    Hey Jenny. Although I don’t suffer from mental illness, my partner does, as do and did many family members through the years. Thank you, for your honesty and open attitude about your struggles as it helps me understand that much more the people who I share my life with.

    Me, too, Laurie.
    Jenny helps me help others in my life, specifically my husband, my sister, and one of my closest friends.
    The ripples really do ripple, don’t they? Help for everyone! Hooray!

  188. Thank you for giving so much of yourself to us! You are amazing to let us into your life. Looking forward to reading your new book! I think it will go well with wine!

  189. Aaaaaand pre-ordered. I can’t wait to read it! Thank you for sharing about you and depression and anxiety and just being… you. By the way, I am a 25 too.

  190. pre-ordering now, but don’t know if you know about Amazon Smile? It’s smile.amazon.com, and you can pick a charity to donate .5% of every purchase to. It’s the only Amazon I use! I thought you might want to add a link to that page for your bazillion readers. I have a local cancer charity (Heroes for Children) locked into my account for all of my purchases. Anyway…I can’t wait to read the new book!

    (I use smile for my own orders but I use my affiliate code for anything here because at the end of the year I use that money to fund our community fundraising for Project Night Night for homeless children and to help readers who are struggling to by presents for their kids during the holidays. We’ve been doing it for about 5 years and our community has given over a quarter million dollars to help children. It’s called The James Garfield Christmas Miracle and it’s bad-ass. ~ Jenny)

  192. HOLD UP.
    Waitaminnit.
    This really is the cover announcement, yes?
    Not an April Fool’s Day joke?
    Because I just uploaded the image to the book on Goodreads.
    Seriously, if this is an April Fool’s Day joke, it’s not funny and you’d better get on the phone with your publisher to tell them that this is now officially the cover, ha ha, joke’s on them, and all.
    Because this really does need to be the cover.
    No, for real. It has to be. It’s perfect. And delightful.

    (If it’s an April Fool’s joke then it’s a joke on me too. 🙂 ~ Jenny)

  193. I’m so excited and I cannot wait to read it!! And — I freaking, fracking, crack-a-lacking LOVE this community!

    We need a “Blogges Commune for Wayword, Wacked-out Souls.” I would SO totally be down with hanging my crazy hat there!! 😉

  194. Can’t wait to dive in. A friend gave me your book last year after a suicide attempt and I recommend it everyone-easy to do since I am a librarian. I’m preorderiing a copy for the library and a personal copy for me. Thank you, Jenny for letting me and everyone else know that DEPRESSION LIES.

  195. I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am to have stumbled onto you and your tribe. It means so much to know that I’m not alone, that we are not alone. Thank you, Jenny, for making this magic happen.

  198. Pre-ordered. Four times now, I have written and erased a paragraph about my family’s mental health history/story and it’s just not working, so I’ll just say thank you.

  201. How can we score a signed copy? 🙂
    This news makes me so very very furiously happy. hug

    (Still working out the details but there will be a tour and I’m working on a plan to try to get signatures to all of you pre-ordering now too. No promises because it’s still in the works, but I’ll keep you posted. ~ Jenny)

  203. Looking forward to the second book. I gifted your first book to a dear friend several years ago. We truly bonded over that book…just laughing until we could not breathe. She has passed in the last year and I have the BEST memories of her sharing your book with me.I am grateful and sad for you struggles. Continue to be strong and Thank You for sharing your life with us. You have given me a gift …and Thank You.

  205. Thank YOU, Jenny!! For giving all of us a voice. I cannot wait to devour your next book- I’ve already pre-ordered!! Thankyou thankyou thankyou!

  206. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!!! I adore your first book and often go back and read sections when I need a lift. Mental illness (of every variety) is a bastard. Depression is my personal brain-f*cker-upper, and I wish there had been someone like you around when I went through my own battle with being number 25. There are not many people who could write about depression in a meaningful way and also make it funny, but I completely believe that you’ve done it. Pre-ordered and anxiously (in a good way!) awaiting my copy. 😀

  207. I read your blog and so often think, “I love you” but I don’t want to post that because I think you’ll think I’m weird and stalker-y and pathetic, but I really do love you for letting me know that I’m ok. So thank you. I love you.

  208. I can’t remember last time I pre ordered a book so far in advance. But I just did. I think the last time was when I pre ordered the final Harry Potter book. So basically, you are the J K Rowling for us (I don’t know you would call us), crazy, happy, sometimes drunk collective?

  209. HOORAY! Yay and can’t wait. I can’t tell you how great it is that I found this blog – I was in the depth of my worst depression ever and I still re-read certain things when it threatens to sneak up again. Not only your sharing, but knowing there are others out there with the same feelings…it means the world to me. Thank you Jenny and thank you tribe. Hugs for all!

  210. Thank you. A thousand times over. Thank you.
    Your posts always seem to come about when my depression is kicking my ass and I need the boost to pick up and carry on.
    You are amazing.

  212. I am so incredibly happy to know that you were able to finish it and that I will be able to get a copy of it!!! I love you Jenny, and all that you stand for. Thank you for being so brave for all of us. XOXOXOXO

  213. OMG. You dear, dear woman. And “broken in just the right way” sums things up so well. Thank you for that. I totally judge a book by a cover. And this one? This one right here? Gonna be the jewel of my collection. So hard was I laughing that the kid thought I was watching some cute cat video without her. Pre-ordering that baby right now.

  215. Thank you! Can. Not. Wait. I’ll get this from my local bookstore staff, because they help to keep me sane, bless their bookish little hearts.

  216. My husband’s name is Rory! He also writes about mental health issues at Terminally Intelligent (http:/terminallyintelligent.wordpress.com/).

  217. This post made me cry more than anything you have written thus far. I know why, but I cannot say it, and that’s okay. Just putting this little bit out here is something. This post also makes me FURIOUSLY HAPPY for you and I can’t wait to read it. Well done, Jenny Lawson. You are amazing!

  218. I just burst out laughing when I saw the cover. I’m sitting in the chair with color on my hair at the salon and people are asking what’s so funny.

    Thank you for sharing your struggles

  219. You make me furiously happy. To tears. So brave. I want my kids to grow up to be just like you. Without the taxidermy. Going to pre-order.

  220. Amazing Jenny! Pre-ordered my copy from London, can’t wait. Well done to you – and to all the 25’s – we love you just as much as numbers 1-24. Fight the good fight.

  221. So Happy Happy Happy to read this! And Jenni, you helped a friend of mine in a big way… she is also a 25. So Thank You. A million times. Thank You.

  222. This made me cry with happy tears. Can’t wait to read the new book. Thank you !!!

  223. Congrats! I don’t know about making clothes out of live ferrets, though. And I understand your fear of self-aware computers deleting your stuff. Robots are notorious for having absolutely NO sense of humor. Partly because they don’t get the appeal of furry things like cats, ferrets, weasels, three-toed sloths, etc. etc.

  224. I’m FURIOUSLY HAPPY that you wrote this book and I can’t wait to get it!

  227. Oh my Goodness, I want to give Rory a hug!

    Is it terrible to say that I am really looking forward to reading your book? I guess what I mean is that it feels like I am saying, “Hey, I am so sorry that you have been dealt the hand of mental illness, and that really sucks, ’cause boy life would be easier without those particular set of cards, but I look forward to reading about your experiences, as I know it will encourage and help me on my own crazy journey.” Also, add me to the list of the “Club of 25s” that has given me motivation and inspiration that I was not alone, even in my darkest hours, from posts and comments on this blog and on Hyperbole and a Half, Epbot, Boggle the Owl (that illustration has been SO helpful! “Just give me a stick!” I want it on a shirt! Also the blog Dooce (WHY has no one else told me about how normal it is to feel extra “off” in the spring and the fall? Her twice yearly reminders are sanity savers and I forward them to my hubby to remind him to show me some extra grace.) Even though I am still in the process of getting diagnosed, I am no longer scared of a label or title for my particular sort of crazy, which is a huge step from where I was a year ago. And it has been awesome to be able to post several of your blog posts that have suicide prevention hotline numbers on Facebook. My brother committed suicide a little over two years ago, and it’s given me a new perspective on my own battle with depression, and I told my parents I am no longer going to hide our family’s history of mental illness and share my own struggles publicly as well, as hearing other people’s story keep me walking each day, and hopefully it will speak to someone else and give them hope to hang on for one more day.

    So while I know the process is hard and there are still hard days, thank you for being open and honest with your journey and creating a safe place for all of us to come and hang out and encourage each other when it seems like we can’t take another step!

  228. Dammit, Jenny! I was doing fine until I read “There were so many 25s”- then I got a lump in my throat and watery eyes and had to lie to my coworkers and tell them I had allergies.

    But in all seriousness, thank you and congratulations. You’re awesome and I admire you in so many different ways. Thanks for being you and willing to put it all out there for public consumption.

  229. I can’t wait!
    You have a way of describing everyday life that makes it feel like it was happening to me…or maybe you’re living in my head, one of those two

  230. I’m so furiously happy that the book is coming out! I would say I’m 25, but in reality I’m probably 25496 because this community has helped so many of us. Thank you all.

  231. Omg. Reading your post just gave me shivers. It is amazing how frankly you talk about your own struggles, it helps immensely to know we are not alone. And we are stronger than we think.
    And kudos and huzzah! Can’t wait to read your new book. The first one had me drooling with laughter, such a pretty picture, I know, I’m dainty as hell!

  232. We will ALWAYS be here. Also, that cover is 27 kinds of awesome!

  233. you have helped me through so many days, thank you. just pre-ordered my cop, which i am going to read on the plane when i take my vacation in november…if i can resist that long! your “let’s pretend this never happened” was the best anti-anxiety med during a bumpy flight (hurricane!) on a previous trip. oddly enough other passengers couldn’t understand what i was laughing about!

  234. How very perfect. Can’t wait for the new book and I love the cover and title – Rory is certainly dancing on that fine line between jazz hands and time to up the meds ;D Congrats, and for the millionth time, thank you. xx

  236. Annnnnnd pre-ordered. 😀 I can’t wait to read it. Thanks so much for being so brave and also being such a rock star of an awesome person. P.S. I LOVE the cover. 🙂

  237. I’m really really hoping this is not an April Fool’s joke, because I really, really want to read your book!

  238. I am furiously excited and furiously clicking on the link to advance purchase my copy. I like your comment that you are glad to be a little bit broken. You have absolutely found your purpose in life and I hope you can remember even in your darkest days all the good that has come from this community that has developed around you. We are helping each other and it’s a beautiful thing.

  239. all I can say is YAY! I know I am another one of those “Me Too” people, and am so glad for you, and the rest of your followers who helped make the 24 (and all the 25’s) into victories over this monstrous liar in our lives. Now I have to look forward to another wonderful book, and several new chapters in the ongoing saga of “holy shit that’s funny” “fuck that’s crazy” and “I can’t help you, but I will cry with you” that is your blog, your story, and your life.

  240. YAY!!!! Congratulations!!!! I have no idea how you do it, but man it’s a huge accomplishment. Triumph!!

    You’re totally right – all large birds are suspect. I once had a white goose named Jonathan who attacked anyone who crossed the yard to our barn. A defining moment in my life was when I stood up to him and screamed at him wielding a large stick and standing my ground – I wanted to see the barn kittens GOSHDARNIT.
    Let’s pretend that’s a metaphor.

  242. Thank you! I received an Amazon gift card for my birthday. I’ve been saving it for something that would give me joy. I just used to pre-order your book! Hooray!
    I am another person who can tell you that you, specifically, as well as Wil Wheaton and Allie Brosh, have helped me feel better about being the particular kind of broken that I am. And, seriously, how lucky am I that I can take some medicine that usually makes me pretty much OK? Also, your blog, along with the others that I mentioned, have helped me to talk to my daughters about mental illness in our family. I don’t ever want it to blindside them like it did me. My parents were sure I was just sort of moody and unreasonable. I couldn’t deny it. But then, when I did get treatment, I learned about this family history of depression and even suicide. Come on! That would’ve been great to know! Anyway, they did their best, and I’m doing my best no with my girls to let them know that some of us are just hardwired differently. It’s difficult and sometimes even scary, but it’s nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
    Ugh, so many words to say that I love what you’re doing and I cannot wait to read the book. I am proud of you, and we don’t even know each other!

  243. Baby hedgehogs in bathtubs videos? And you’re not sharing?? I THOUGHT YOU LOVED US.
    P.S. Thank you for the cover alone – it is instant happy-making and reason enough to buy your book. 😊

  244. I am so unbelievably excited about this book. For a long time, I felt alone in my world of depression, anxiety, adhd, ptsd, and generalized little inner kid trauma, and then I happened across you. Sometimes the right people show up, at the right time in life and tell you something so true that it slaps you in the ear, for me, it was your last book. I’m more than a little odd and your book helped me to embrace the weird and give a giant middle finger wearing a sombrero to anyone who said that being me wasn’t okay. You have been there on days where you’re not completely feeling it and even then you remind yourself, and others, that depression lies. I guess, you’re my spirit animal. 🙂 Congratulations on finishing your book! I’m only at the start of mine, but it’s always fun to hear someone has actually finished one! 🙂

  245. SQUEE (I’m so furiously happy about this that’s all I can do. SQUEE!)

  246. Love you, love Victor, love Hailey- so glad you accomplished this wonderful goal! Re-reading book #1 has kept me sane during a really horrible week of terrible badness. I look forward to my next Bloggess book installment! Thank you SO much!

  247. Just pre-ordered it. Cannot wait. You are brave beyond words for writing about this.

  248. Thank you for the constant reminder that even people who are afraid of everything and sometimes can’t leave the house for reasons that can’t be properly explained to others, can be delightful and valuable. It can be hard to remember sometimes. You’re a role model of awsomesauce and are just the very best of everything. Can you please make FURIOUSLY HAPPY T-shirts?

  249. Congratulations!! I’m so glad you wrote about this and I adore your blog. I’ve preordered it a) because you’re awesome and b) because it comes out on my birthday! Brava!

  250. Well…I don’t suppose I’ll get to read this book laying on the ground waiting for a helicopter in Afghanistan while laughing out loud (and people wondering why the Chaplain is laughing in a war zone), but I immensely look forward to this book. I’m sure I’ll just be somewhere else where people can wonder why the Chaplain is laughing and me having the immense privilege to tell them. Thank you so much for being you and helping me be me.

  251. Well…I don’t suppose I’ll get to read this book laying on the ground waiting for a helicopter in Afghanistan while laughing out loud (and people wondering why the Chaplain is laughing in a war zone), but I immensely look forward to this book. I’m sure I’ll just be somewhere else where people can wonder why the Chaplain is laughing and me having the immense privilege to tell them. Thank you so much for being you and helping me be me.

  254. I absolutely loved your first book and just pre-ordered the new one.

    Thanks for all you do (besides being wildly entertaining). Your folder of 24 is simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. May you continue to touch the lives of those who struggle in your wonderful, wacky, and positive way.

  255. Your humility reminds me that good things happen to wonderful people. I think you should hashtag I am 25. It’s powerful.

    And I wanted you to know, although I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never suffered from depression to any significant degree, you’ve helped me continue being in the life a family member who does, and allowed me to continue having a relationship with him, because I’ve gained enough insight from you and this “pack” to keep my own sanity and support him in a loving and empathic way. For that, I will always be grateful.

  257. For funny, I don’t see how you’re going to top the “arm stuck in a cow’s vagina” story, but I’m eager to find out how you do it. I’m also eager to read the book because I have a mental illness too, I blog about it (bipolarjan.wordpress.com), and I want to know more about how you maintain the balance.

  258. WOOT! I can tell Rory is saying it with me. Congratulations on finishing your book. I’m sure it will be as wonderful if not more wonderful than your first book. I couldn’t speed fast enough to the pre-order and mentally telling your book to get here faster because I want it, but I’ll pretend to be patient just because you’re worth the wait. So excited for you and for me because new book from Jenny Lawson. All sorts of AWESOME!

  259. I absolutely adored your first book (which reminds me, I HAVE to get it back from my mom) and have been looking forward to the second. Even more so now. I have a granddaughter who self-harms and I am hopeful that we are finally out of the woods, but with her wacko parents, who knows? We have offered to have her come live with us, which she did for a while, but got to missing her parents so she went home – and almost immediately regretted it. She’s still home but knows that she can come here anytime, for a day, a week or until she’s old enough to be on her own. I think knowing she has an escape has helped her deal with things. And we talk – a lot. I want to read your book and I want to get a copy for her as well, perhaps for Christmas or maybe just-because one day when she needs it. Laughter really IS the best medicine sometimes and my granddaughter needs all the laughter she can get. Thank you, Sweetie, for giving us some of your pain and helping us learn to laugh about yours and our own.

  261. I am SO happy for this book to come out. Seriously. Furiously. I suffer from depression and BPD and one of my best friends suffers from depression and anxiety. We read your first book together and laughed/cried our way through it. There were so many, “That’s me!” moments for the both of us. You’re the reason that I had the courage to accept the truths about my struggles and finally get help for my BPD, which I’d been in denial about for years. Thank you thank you thank you. You’re f*cking awesome. Keep being honest and vulnerable and funny. You make the journey easier for many of us 🙂

  263. Super excited for the new book. Thanks for being so honest and awesome.

  264. I’m so excited for this. My daughter is newly diagnosed with both depression and anxiety and, even though I’ve struggled with depression at times, I feel helpless and confused about how to help her. I’ve often thought of writing you to ask for one piece of advice to help a 14-year-old girl who is struggling, but I’m not a person who comments or writes to people on the internet (well, not usually). I can’t wait to read it and then pass it along to her. Every story I tell her that helps her feel less alone seems to help chip away at the isolation she is feeling right now. Thank you for sharing with us!

    And yes, we definitely need t-shirts.

  265. Another #25 here. Looking forward to reading your new book because you will tell my story. Thank you, Jenny!

  266. This makes April Fools Day SO less annoying…and worth it that I got up this morning. Congrats and many thanks. Ordering a hard copy because you had an excellent point about the robot rebellion. And it makes it easier to give a copy to my therapist.

  267. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK!!!!!! Yay you Jenny! I knew you were ‘my people’ since the first page of your first book. Thank you for sharing that story of the 25. It made me get all choked up. I react differently than others I know. I laughed hysterically at my grandmother’s funeral whom I loved dearly. I know she would have been cracking up with me had she been alive. Laughing so hard you cry actually worked in my favor since everyone thought I was crying very very hard. Whether I laugh or cry at your new book, I know I will LOVE it.

  268. Congrats on the new book and your heartfelt post. Writing about mental illness is always difficult, but writing about it with humor is REALLY hard stuff. Can’t wait to read it!

  269. Love the cover pic. Love, love, love the title. Love you’ve finished!! Love it’s coming out soon!! You rock, Jenny Lawson…YOU ROCK.

  270. You’re so brave! And you work so hard! The two things about myself I feel the worst about.

    My brother and I are struggling tremendously right now with the eminent demise of our business where we help people who are sick and dying do so more comfortably and with as much love and dignity as we can give them. So, if all of y’all out there would send some prayers, happy thoughts, do a rain dance (or the hokey pokey), light a candle… SOMETHING, we would be most grateful. Not only that, my brother’s favorite cat was diagnosed with cancer and isn’t expected to make it a month. He’s just BROKEN… AGAIN. Sigh. Life is hard. But the daffodils and forsythia are blooming here, and the sky is that clear, springtime BLUE. Thank you.

  271. 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 YAY! And GOOD FOR YOU! I’ve dealt with depression, anxiety and an eating disorder for the last 12 years, and keep feeling like all the recovery stories I read are, surprisingly, more shaming/apologetic then joyous, ridiculous, funny. We NEED laughter, so badly – it’s the most freeing thing I’ve ever encountered in the face of mental illness. So excited to hear you’ve created another gem for the world to cherish. Keep rockin’ the awesome!

  273. Ordered mine! Congratulations on the new book. I promise I’ll still love you in the morning. Unless that racoon does something utterly disgusting, and then I’ll just hang around out of morbid curiosity!

  274. Congratulations. Your honesty about your struggles is inspiring and I thank you for it.

  275. Awesome sauce! It comes out 2 days before my birthday. Happy birthday to me. Can not wait to read it. My copy of the first ones getting worn out ☺

  277. I’m so happy for you!! And for me! And really, not to be too sappy, for all of us!

  278. CANNOT WAIT! Seriously. I loved the last one and I’ve been impatiently waiting for this one. I know it will be amazing. Congratulations on finishing it! Am off to pre-order!

  280. Stuff like this always makes me feel worse. But I’ll read it anyway.
    meow meow meow

  281. I’ve been following you for a while now and have been waiting for this news!! I just pre-ordered it and I’m counting the days until it’s released!! It’ll be like an early Christmas!! Thank you – for everything!!!

  283. You are so brave. Not only in writing your books but touring to promote them. I was in the Seattle Elliot Bay Books (which is strangely no longer on the bay) when you read to me and the several hundred people who had crowded in to see you. I wanted to run just being in the audience. But you didn’t run, you read to us and talked with us and then sat there for all gazillion of us to file past your table. You’re fabulous and we love you!

  285. I needed this news today. You have helped me so many times in dealing with my own depression and issues. Sadly we lost a family member to suicide 2 days ago. Reading your words and those of people her remind me to not lose hope and depression lies. Thank you for being you and staying with us

  287. Just pre-ordered, and look forward to September, which is kind of a boring month usually.

    While I don’t struggle with anxiety or depression, my mother does. I found your blog right around the time she went off the deep end, and I just couldn’t understand what was happening. I was so frustrated with her, but then I found you. Thank you for having the courage to share the dark secrets. Your courage helped me to understand what my mother was dealing with and to have patience when she wasn’t acting like herself. Thank you.

  288. Reading this post is making me simultaneously weepy and extremely smiley. Which is kind of like life. Will be ordering multiple copies.

  289. Somebody seriously stole your last book from me… I am so going to buy this book, and hope that someone steals it from me again. Because if larceny saves a life, then so be it.

  291. Brilliant news!
    Thank you so much for being willing to slog through your own issues and finding the humour in them in order to share it with the rest of us and make us feel better and not alone in this.
    hugs

  292. Oh Jenny, I am so excited for you AND for all your fans! I just know we’re all going to love the new book!

  293. i am “another 25″… Until I found this tribe, I did not know “depression lies”. I believed every word it said… I was ugly, worthless, stupid, etc. and then I found this blog and found an amazing therapist. So many, many Thanks!.

  295. When I saw Rory on the cover, I knew this was not an April Fool’s joke. To be a joke, your’s would have to have some calm, sad, pastel, non-taxidermied figure on the front.
    I think the “I AM 25” club is going to be bigger than the your church membership.
    And yeah, I am a member.
    Thanks tribe.

  296. I opened up and wrote about depression for the first time in January of this year. Then, beginning of March, I was feeling better and I WAS SO EXCITED to feel better and I crossed out the depression part in the “about me” in my blog. Now, depression has creeped back in and BECAUSE of you, I had the courage to write about it right away again. I didn’t want to deal with it on my own. This post brought tears to my eyes and I CANNOT wait to read your 2nd book.

  297. Thank you so much for your writing, it comes through at the best and worst of times.
    As an aside, I am wondering how much of Viktor is also in this book? And by that I mean do you write about your relationship? Let’s explain: I suffer from multiple mental bs disorders, and recently added autistic to the list. I am worried I will never find someone who would willingly take on “partner/caretaker” title and am extremely curious about that relationship dynamic.
    Sorry if that’s too intimate a question.

    (He’s in there and we do talk about that strange, wonderful and terrible dynamic. I think it gave us both a better idea of what they other was going through. Keep looking. Good people are out there and they’re waiting for you – flaws and all. ~ Jenny)

  300. I am so excited…then I was really nervous that this was some cruel April Fool’s Day prank but got over my nerves to pre-order my copy on Amazon!!! Happy Day!!!

  301. Congrats Jenny!!!! You are so brave to try and make light of something so serious.When I did it, the biggest lesson I learned was DON’T READ YOUR AMAZON REVIEWS. So don’t. Only read the reviews here, of the people who love you. Because they’ll all be good reviews. Someone who doesn’t know you (or “know” you) won’t get it and that’s not your fault so you do whatcha gotta do and YOU know you’re doing it right Because of that folder. *Thumbs-up emojis!!!!

  302. Whoohoooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Nice job on the book and thanks for letting us be well…us.

  303. Righteous! Can’t wait to read it.
    Hope to see you at a local bookstore reading again.
    And that cover model is perfect.

  304. as long as you are here…I am here. can’t wait for the book, Jenny Lawson’s voice rolling around my head..thats laughter “crack”, my drug of choice. an by the way i would so read a book on “ZOMBIE FAINTING GOATS, IN THE BATTLE FOR BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH’S HEART”.

  307. Thank you Jenny and all your readers. Furiously happy is how I do it too.

  308. This made me totally laugh out loud for so many reasons. Can’t wait to read this one. Pre-ordered for sure. Also, my name is Rory and I write about being broken on terminallyintelligent.wordpress.com I think I need to adopt a rodeo raccoon now.

  310. WOO HOO!!! Thrilled, pre-ordered. But Amazon needs to get that cover up on their site, it’s way too badass to be missing.

  311. Congratulations!! I’m one of the “me too’s”. I can’t wait to get my copy and read it. You inspire me, Jenny. You inspire a lot of people. Thank you.

  312. Yes! and Thank you! and … Amen?! What word means HELL YEAH BABY??

    I’m going to LOVE it. SO glad you are you and you are here and you brought this huge tribe of awesome here with you.

  313. I don’t comment often (ever?) because you have SO many comments that I know you can’t read them all. But this reminds me that SOMEONE is reading them. I’m so excited for this book. You (and your posse of fantastic followers) are incredible & inspiring. I’ve been a 25 and, though I’m not right now, I could be again because that’s the nature of the beast. I can’t tell you how many times repeating “depression lies” has helped me. I want to hug everyone right now (and I really, really dislike touching people). Rock on Jenny!

    (I’m reading them. And I love them all. I’m so glad you’re here. ~ Jenny)

  314. SQUEE! It’ll be like a belated birthday present! I will celebrate for all the days between my birthday and the book’s arrival. Hmmm…I better stock up on booze. Furiously happy!! XO

  315. Congratulations Jenny! I’ve ordered!
    Here is an article I think you might understand. http://www.bluntmoms.com/plan/
    I left it anonymous because my family is not ready to talk. It is nice to be part of the group and feel understood. I won’t say 25 because I imagine I am in the hundreds. I have never done the ‘anon’ before and wish I could be as brave as you. Some day.

  316. Funny book, laughed at last one, silly cover make me laugh, already preordered, etc. Now that that’s out of the way…

    Amazon had a somewhat little known service called “Amazon smile” that donates to charity. You just go to smile.amazon.com and sign up. It uses your existing amazon account and all the existing amazon products. Nothing changes but the web address. Then amazon donates a small portion of your purchases to the charity of your choice. They don’t add to the price or anything. It literally costs you the same as you were spending before, but some charity gets a couple of percent of the money amazon would have kept.

    Please tell people about this so they can sign up and choose a charity to help out. Maybe you could even recommend a few that are listed. There has to be a charity for depressed ferrets that are having a difficult time relating to their hedgehog friends or something that could use a little money.

    Thanks

  318. Oh girl, I love all of this, and you, and I am furiously happy that it’s done and I can read it!

    I love what you’ve done by putting your real self out there in ways that many of us cough me cough will never be able to do, which leaves me with only random crap to write about and only occasional glimpses of anything that’s really in my head.

    so- huge high five

  319. The only thing that could make this better is if it were being released TOMORROW. And then I could be reading in the waiting rooms of the colleges my daughter and I are visiting next week.

  320. Dangit, you made me cry!!!

    I don’t have any kind of mental illness, and I can not even imagine what it feels like to want to die, but I am so very glad that so many people have got help. Continue getting help. And that they know they are not alone.

    And that you are here to make us laugh. You are amazing. I had so many things in my head reading your post and reading the comments, and now of course they’re all gone.

    I will be pre-ordering your new book, for sure!!!! Thanks for the link. And Rory is amazing! And glitter sucks. Sort of. It’s awesome and shiny and pretty but good gods, don’t make me deal with it in real life!!

  321. Love the cover and I’m sure I’ll love the book as I did the first book. Include me in your 25 folder, I’ve been hiding since I was 19. Runs in my family and I fight the good fight even though sometimes it just seems to be an easy solution. Go Jenny, I read your blog for my upper addiction.

  322. OMG, I can’t wait! I never laughed so hard in my life as I did when I read your last book. My husband and daughter thought I was insane!

  323. No words, only joy. Furious joy.

    When I got your first book I read a bunch of it aloud to my husband and he almost died laughing. I’d better be careful with this second one lest it finish the job.

  324. Thank you so much for being so open an honest! You simply share your amazing life with us and that provides so much inspiration for me to live my own amazing life.

  326. Thank you Jenny. For your honesty and for putting it out there in a way that helps me accept that my brokenness is in just the right way for me. And for making me laugh out loud and find joy when I forget it’s still in me.

  327. Rory the Glitter King. All hail Rory.

    Thank you for being so brave, and for giving voice to the dark bullshit that so many of us carry. It makes the bullshit less heavy when it gets shared. Your blog and followers have helped me enormously with this giant bag of darkness that I slog around.

    And thank you for being hysterically funny in your disorders and strangeness, and for introducing us to the luxuries of tying the word “motherfucker” to taxidermy and metal chickens, and for letting us in on the glorious Nancy Kappas, may she ever say inappropriate things in heaven, and her Judy Garland trail mix, and poor, sweet, helpless Victor, and your completely badass daughter.

    Furiously happy,
    Keith

  329. Just pre-ordered now. I am a long-time reader who has been blessed and inspired by your writing both during dark times of my own and by the opportunity to be a very small part of helping others with the James Garfield Christmas Miracle every year. Thanks so much for everything that you do.

  331. AHHHHHH!!!!! It’s done!!! I am going to vomit for you! In a good way I promise. Except that emetophobia is my biggest fear so I will probably cry if anyone sees me do it. Or even if they don’t. But I don’t care! Ok, really I do because anxiety is a fucker. But who cares! Because in September I can read your book and not feel so alone about crying after I vomit in front of people after I found out that you finished your book. (Or that time it happened at the airport in the security line and I sat down on the floor and a nice woman offered me a baby wipe and to take me through security.) I am seriously so furiously happy right now! And this in the same week my sister got engaged. Seriously, Jenny, you two really know how to make a girl’s week.

    (P.S. two years ago today was the second time I met you! And I got to meet Copernicus! That probably means something… We’re soul mates? Or best friends? Or two of an amazing clan of brilliantly and perfectly imperfect people, right?!?)

  333. Thank you Jenny! I loved your first book. I laughed out loud, I cried and loved reading it. You are a shining example of what it means to be a strong, loving, honest, truthful, funny, compassionate, intelligent, courageous, authentic woman and I aspire to be like you. Your new book is coming out at the perfect time. I completed treatment for breast cancer in August 2014 (I’m doing great!) and my docs told me to expect recovery from treatment to take a year. So next September when I’ve forgotten I preordered, my kids are back in school, my energy and endurance has improved and I am out there living life and returning to my new “normal” (what an ineffective word as I don’t think “normal” really exists), I will open up my Kindle to glitter, confetti, Rory and The Bloggess – the perfect recovery gift from me to me. I plan to curl up in comfy clothes, with my favorite tea and chocolate of course. I will probably be glued to your book when the kids get home and simply nod at all questions and let them run wild and order pizza delivery for dinner so I can keep reading, stay up half the night and thoroughly enjoy every minute of it. I can’t wait! Thank you!

  334. So now that you are all fancy-pants famous and get to ‘join the ranks of Tina Fey and David Sedaris’, can we still be friends? I’m suddenly intimated by you, but it’s no fun to drink wine slushes alone.

    (Im pretty sure they’re separate ranks. My ranks are filled with cat fur and Walking Dead reruns. No one wants to share my ranks. ~ Jenny)

  337. I was diagnosed as bipolar when I was 18. Suddenly, all the years of feeling “not normal” and like I had too much going on in my heart and head all made sense. Adolescence is hard enough — and I did it with an undiagnosed serious mental illness.

    I know you’ve heard 9,457 stories from people who have been there, who appreciate you, and who share your heartaches and joys of living with and thriving despite mental illness. But, I’m going to say “thank you” anyways. Thank you, for bottling the humor and joy found amongst the day-to-day life we live on the roller coaster that is mental illness. I’m proud of you.

  338. Newb here but man, did you hit me in the feels talking about depression and anxiety. I just wrote a post about how I feel like I passed this horrible hung on to my son, and the outpouring of support from friends and family was awesome. I can’t wait to read your book!

  339. I don’t think I’ve ever preordered so quickly! (and it made me randomly happy that when I went on Amazon UK and started to type that it already came up as something people had been searching for!)

  341. Congrats and yay! It must be amazing and awesome to have so many people supporting and cheering you and worrying for you when there is radio silence. To know that you have left an indelible mark on this world and the people in it, saving lives with words–that’s something we can all aspire to. Keep on being a great human!

  342. Congratulations! And thank you for sharing all those scary thoughts with us.

  343. Reading this post (like so many others) made me teary. Run screaming from you? We all run screaming toward you. We are all different and our fears and anxieties seem like no one else’s, but at the same time we are all hands reaching out in the dark for reassurance. And finding it. We are a tribe.

  344. Jenny!!! I’m so FREAKING EXCITED to read book #2!! Thank you for plugging along, for never giving up even when things get hard, so hard that you don’t want to move, let alone write a book for all of us!! I came out to your book signing in Seattle for “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened”. When you spoke of your anxiety and how much medication you were on just to come out and speak to us, it was so refreshing. Then you said if we were feeling anxious not to worry because the person next to us probably had some Xanax it was hilarious because OF COURSE I HAD XANAX!! WHO GOES ANYWHERE WITHOUT IT?!?! You were so great, signed books, took pics…. even though I now know you were really struggling and ready to be done. So, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for pushing through. I can’t wait to see you again for this book tour!! BTW, I need a Victor, do you have a spare you can send my way?!?! ((Hugs)) ~ Shae

  347. Okay, on second thought, screaming and running toward someone who suffers from anxiety issues probably is a really bad way to show how much we love you….

  349. I am so excited to read. I have had my own painful struggle with depression and anxiety my whole life and have suffered in silence through most of it. It is thanks to you and others like you who are brave enough to share that make it possible to believe that I am, we are not alone, and that being “broken” can be a good thing. Thank you Jenny from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be a part of your tribe and for teaching me to lean into the weird.

  350. I’m so excited for this. I will never run screaming from you either. Maybe slowly back away on occasion, but you might do the same to me at times. If we ever met, that is. Would have to do that first. =)

  351. I wish I knew you in real life so I could give you a hug, or high five, or jazz hands cause I adore you. You make me proud. We need more people in the world like you – someone who is apologetically real, funny, and who speaks her mind even when it’s tough. I wish I was a better writer to really describe how I feel about this post and you but this will have to do. I will always read your stuff no matter what you say (unless it’s to kill puppies cause then you are on your own) xoxo

  352. Jenny,

    I just had a horrible horrible 24 hours… I fell and hurt my elbow very badly, I got in a fight with someone I have to see frequently, I picked up foster kittens (which SHOULD be nice) – but I was told they were healthy and that was so so very not true – and also they are infested with fleas so now I am glad treating ALL my animals and feel like I am covered in fleas…. Anyway, it has been pretty shit.

    I just told my friend I was going to try for a better 24 hours, then went to your site and saw this… This is the best news I have heard in ages!!!! I am super psyched!!!!

    I can’t wait to read it, and thank you for all you do making those of us with anxiety and depression feel a little less alone.

    Love, Rachel

  353. That is so great! Congratulations!! 🙂 It is now on my list to buy – I get gift cards for Mother’s Day and my birthday so that’s what it is going towards. I can’t wait to get it and read it. 🙂

  354. awesome news! congratulations 🙂
    i’ll be counting down the days until i can get my hands on a copy! so excited for you! way to go jenny!

  356. Just pre-ordered the new book and a copy of Lets Pretend This Never Happened (which I have on Kindle but really need in print too). I am a member of the tribe too and relate so much to what you say and the commenters(?) say. Have had depression all my life and hate to be out at social occasions. My daughter is getting married the end of next month and I am seeing a hypnotist before so I can get thru the wedding and reception (as well as my ex-husband being there). We are all fucked up in some manner or other.

  357. Please tell me this isn’t an April fool’s joke.

    (It is not an April Fool’s Joke. Promise. ~ Jenny)

  358. I love the cover! I just finished reading your first book, which was awesome, and now I can’t wait for this one. 🙂

  360. FUCK. YES. Yay you and all your awesomeness and curlers and phobias and crap. You are awe-inspiring.

    Also, if your third book isn’t just a picture book of all these fucked up taxidermied things I will pretend this never happened OH NOW I GET THE TITLE OF THE FIRST ONE.

  362. I can’t wait to read book #2!

    I read somewhere that Stephen King doesn’t remember writing Cujo and several other books of that time because of all of the alcohol and cocaine. Cujo. One of his best books, in my opinion. Maybe because the books from that era are the books I read as a teenager. No, I don’t have a point, just wanted to share.

  363. I cannot wait to read the physical copy of this book on the bus on the way to work. I got looks reading the last one because I couldn’t contain my laughter to acceptable public transport levels. This one has the dual benefit of at least as much humor and an AMAZING cover. Hello, double-bus seat all to myself 🙂

  365. Mazel tov! I was just thinking how in the past there were “self-help” which we written by an academic with some anonymous scenarios: “Susie Q. had an insatiable craving for Twinkies which destroyed her teeth, her figure and her marriage. Here are 5 ways to increase your self-discipline and keep Hostess Cakes out of your cupboard.” They stank. I see your book (and Amanda Palmer’s) as a new generation of helping books that use openness and humor to slay those dragons. Thank you. Hope to see you in Boston.

  366. Thank you for writing this book and sharing yourself with us. This may sound completely ridiculous, but I often feel like an outsider, but an outsider who has no reason to complain. So many people I know struggle with depression, yet I do not. Sure, I have bad days, and recently bad months and half-years, but I know from listening to my friends that I don’t feel depressed, not really. And that’s great, but I feel like there’s some integral part of them that I can’t share, some deeper understanding that I will never experience. So, thank you for sharing yourself so that I may understand the people I love a little bit better.

  367. Here’s my problem: my wife only reads real, cut-down-a-tree books and I only read books on my iPad, so do I really gotta buy two copies of this thing? CAN’T YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THE PROBLEMS?

  368. The countdown begins! I can’t wait! You have gotten me through many a dark day. Thank you for… Well, just being you.

  373. I live with someone who has battled severe clinical depression for many years. I bought your last book for him, and I have pre-ordered this one for him as well. Thank you!

  375. I am so furiously happy and THIS BETTER NOT BE AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE – because I just pre-ordered! I’m going to go dance a “please-don’t-let-this-be-a-joke” dance.

  376. I guess this means I need to get a move on reading your first books (I know, I know- I didn’t discover you until I liberated a bunch of taxidermy animals from a nature center dumpster, announced I was going to put them all in stylish hats, and had a friend direct me your way). I am so excited to read “Furiously Happy,” both because the cover is magical, and because I am excited to relate to what is within. Congrats on finishing!

  378. Bless you! because now I have a gift for all those hard to shop for people on my list for Christmas 2015. I’m sure it’s divine and I cannot wait to read it!….is there going to be a book tour? because I have to get my book from Book People if you’re going to be there! 🙂 I’m so pumped to read it! Congratulations! September is too far away. I want it NOW! 🙂

  380. Should that of made me cry? Because it did….. I love the cover…. we had a raccoon like that when I was a kid…and a baby chick..that was kind of a deal breaker with people.
    Anyhow I am SO excited for the book! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  381. Congratulations! Love the cover. Just pre-ordered it. Loved your first book. Can’t wait to read this one. Thank you for having the courage to write it.

  382. I’ve known this was coming, and so glad it’s out! Will be getting one for me and one for my step-daughter! (I’m another 25)

  383. Love your other book and can’t wait for this one! I too discovered that opening up about all the crazy is liberating and friends do not rn away. All the best to you and your family!

  384. congratulations! i have to admit, i was looking for a ‘thumbs up’ button. i do that all the time, that’s how conditioned i’ve become. also, i want to rewind the radio when i miss something. i’m old school, i still listen to the radio. but i digress… HERE’S TO MANY MORE STORIES AND BOOKS AND 25’S and so on!!!

  385. I hope you record an audio version as well. Your delivery of the first book was fabulous.

  386. I can’t wait to read it! If you do a book tour, and come to Portland, I will try to ignore my anxiety and come see you. Most likely, though, I will wave at the bookstore as I drive by.

  388. Dear Jenny, I have been through more than anyone should ever have to deal with in the last several years. Your humor has kept me going and things in perspective as it does for so many of us. Now I can finally finish the last few chapters of your book. I wouldn’t let myself, because I didn’t want to think there was no more there waiting for me when things get really bad.
    Now I can, because the next one is coming.
    You are a credit to our species.
    Thank you!!

  389. When I was one I was attacked by huge white ducks! At 45, I still have a horrible fear of them. I am glad to know that I am not alone……
    Love you! Thanks for being the voice that so many of us need!