Memoir Monday... Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

In FURIOUSLY HAPPY by Jenny Lawson... Jenny explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best. According to Jenny: "Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos." FURIOUSLY HAPPY is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it's about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways-and who doesn't need a bit more of that?

I tried to resist this book. The cover image just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. And again, I thought, "Here's another celebrity tell all book", because she already published one book that was suppose to be a memoir, how much more can there be? But then I actually took a peek at it, and read some of it and now I HAVE to read it! The writing was so good! And she has this wry sense of humor that I like. And I guess it all comes back to "don't judge a book by its' cover". But now I can appreciate the cover. And Jenny Lawson is a celebrity because she has opened up about something very personal and how she deals with it, and in doing so she has helped so many people realize they are not alone... And that I can definitely appreciate. On my TBR list now!

Memoir Monday... The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok

My first impression of The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok was "here we go again". Another memoir about living with a schizophrenic mother, etc., etc. But then the reviews started coming in fast and furious about this book. Hmmm, maybe I need take another closer look at this one... Here's what Publisher's Weekly wrote about The Memory Palace:

"This moving, compassionately candid memoir by artist and children's book author Bartok describes a life dominated by her gifted but schizophrenic mother. Bartók and her sister, Rachel, both of whom grew up in Cleveland, are abandoned by their novelist father and go to live with their mother at their maternal grandparents home. By 1990, a confrontation in which her mother cuts her with broken glass leads Bartók (née Myra Herr) to change her identity and flee the woman she calls the cry of madness in the dark. Eventually, the estrangement leaves her mother homeless, wandering with her belongings in a knapsack, writing letters to her daughter's post office box. Reunited 17 years later, Bartók is suffering memory loss from an accident; her mother is 80 years old and dying from stomach cancer. Only through memories do they each find solace for their collective journey. Using a mnemonic technique from the Renaissance—a memory palace—Bartók imagines, chapter by chapter, a mansion whose rooms secure the treasured moments of her reconstructed past. With a key found stashed in her mother's knapsack, she unlocks a rental storage room filled with paintings, diaries, and photos. Bartók turns these strangely parallel narratives and overlapping wonders into a haunting, almost patchwork, narrative that lyrically chronicles a complex mother-daughter relationship.

This sounds fascinating to me. Like a treasure chest of memories, Bartok constructs her memoir around these objects. And glancing through excerpts of Mira Bartok's book, I found some beautiful artwork along with her compelling prose. So, The Memory Palace is now on my wish list! Have you read this one yet?! Share your thoughts if you have, I'd love to hear what you thought of this!

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris... A Review

Why would someone hail a cab and open the door only to keep walking?

October is National Reading Group Month, and do I have a great book for your reading group! It's The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris and, after having just turned the last page, words almost escape me how amazing this book is. The Unnamed captured me, threw its arms around me and didn't let me go until the very last word. It's about being in love & the strength needed to endure lifes' detours together, the simple joys that we sometimes overlook until it is too late, and the forces of nature that can grab ahold of us for no good reason, threatening all that we know & love. Here's the blurb from the publisher...

Tim Farnsworth is a handsome, healthy man, aging with the grace of a matinee idol. His wife Jane still loves him, and for all its quiet trials, their marriage is still stronger than most. Despite long hours at the office, he remains passionate about his work, and his partnership at a prestigious Manhattan law firm means that the work he does is important. And, even as his daughter Becka retreats behind her guitar, her dreadlocks and her puppy fat, he offers her every one of a father's honest lies about her being the most beautiful girl in the world.

He loves his wife, his family, his work, his home. He loves his kitchen. And then one day he stands up and walks out. And keeps walking.

Author Joshua Ferris paints Tim Farnsworth as a workaholic. His life is wrapped up in the prestigious law firm where he is a partner. One day he left work... he hailed a cab, got in the cab, opened the other door of the cab, and got out of the cab... he started walking... and he didn't stop walking until his body was so exhausted he sat down on a bench and went to sleep. He woke up in the freezing cold... it was snowing... his fingers and toes were frostbitten. But this was only the start, you see Tim Farnsworth suffers from this condition where he is compelled to walk. He will have to walk until his body is exhausted, no matter how long it takes or where he is at the time that it overtakes him.

At first I thought The Unnamed might be a light-hearted story and that Tim's walking would lead him into some funny situations. But I soon discovered that Tim's walking was no joke... Tim's compulsion created serious issues for his safety- physically if not mentally. If he was underdressed he could get frostbite. He could walk, and wake up, anywhere. He could be attacked or become injured. Tim's wife Jane waited for the phone calls to tell her where to pick Tim up, but soon the phone calls stretched out longer than the night... Tim was such a sympathetic character- what he went through, the internal torture as well as the inability to control his walking, was so well written. You could really feel what he was going through. The frustrations with trying to cure what no doctor could diagnose. And you could empathize with what his wife and his daughter were also going through - their frustrations while trying everything in their control to help.

The story doesn't just spiral down though- Tim has remissions and you begin to hope that he will overcome this "unnamed" disease. His family has hopes for him too. How he deals with his attacks, his job, his co-workers & clients, and his disease makes for some great reading. The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris is both compelling and tragic...

Grab the Reading Guide for The Unnamed! Even if you read this book on your own, the reading guide is a great way to enrich your reading experience. Learn more about Joshua Ferris at the author's website. Read an excerpt of The Unnamed!

*I want to thank Hachette Books for sending along a copy of this great book for review!

Sounds like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey... a Review

Sounds like Crazy... ( by Shana Mahaffey)

And You'll Love it!

What would you do with 5 different voices in your head telling you what to do?! Well Holly Miller, who stars in Sounds like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey, calls her 5 voices "the Committee", and she's brought negotiation to a new level as she tries to deal with the life before her and the people in her head that each play a key role in how she handles different situations. There's Ruffles, who weighs a ton and eats Ruffle Potato Chips all day while sitting on a purple pillow. There's the Faceless Boy, who Holly can only see his red Converse Sneakers. There's the Silent One, who prays all the time, and Sarge who is like a drill Sargent and very protective of Holly. And last but not least there's Betty Jane, the diva, the dress to the nines and "Charmin only" control freak who everyone is generally afraid of. (yes, that's Charmin as in bathroom tissue, which she makes Holly carry around because she won't let Holly use anything else if she goes to a restroom!). They make her life hell for the most part, but they also make up her life as she's always known it. What's a girl to do?! Deal with it!

Having multiple personalities makes it difficult to navigate a normal life, but Holly has the "support" of her dysfunctional parents, a long distance sister, a sometimes boyfriend, and a job as a waitress. Yes, I put "support" in quotes because basically her father left her mother, and pays Holly's medical bills (she sees a psychiatrist now) out of guilt for being a horrible father, and her mother basically dropped her off across the country at college and left her there, but gave her an "emergency" credit card, which Holly uses to support her habits, which include food, living expenses beyond the low paying wages of waitresses, and Betty Jane's expensive tastes. That's until one day a customer walks in to the diner, Betty Jane takes over flirting (always good for tips) and loves the voice of Betty Jane for his new animated TV show. Things should be looking up, except Betty Jane is even more over the top with stardom, the rest of the Committee wants to throw her out, and Holly's psychiatrist is trying to heal her for good- AND it all works together beautifully!

Shana Mahaffey has written a smart, funny, and compassionate story. What you may suspect as being just another "chick lit" selection, is really an amazing story of the healing of a woman who was so traumatized at a young age that it left her with dissociative identity disorder, or what was once known as multiple personality disorder. The plot turns from the madcap life of Holly living her life with the Committee, to what caused her trauma and ultimately how she is healed in the end. And it's because of this that the story is so much deeper than what you first see on the surface. Shana's writing is fresh & wonderful. Her characters are all so well written and fully fleshed out. Their personalities are so unique and the Committee is a blast. The story will sneak up on you, grabbing you in the end... I know because it sure grabbed me! It's original and it's a great read! it's about sisters, dysfunctional families, and it's about healing... (throw in some Ruffles potato chips and Charmin bathroom tissue and you're all set!)...

Shana Mahaffey is also a great person! She took the time this week from her busy schedule and chatted with my reading group, who read Sounds like Crazy for our reading group selection this month, via Skype. The book made for a good conversation, but Shana was so much fun to chat with too! She shared her whole writing process, how she came up with the book (no she does NOT have multiple personalities!), and how she researched the book. Thanks Shana!

You can learn more about Sounds like Crazy and the author at Shana's website ShanaMahaffey.com. Plus you can find out how YOUR reading group can have Shana join you virtually to discuss the book while you're there!

Hey, I'm sharing this book review at Cym Lowell's Book Review Party! You get follow the link to Cym Lowell's Blog to read more great reviews!