More: Books 'saved me during all of this': 'The Bloggess' Jenny Lawson talks escape amid COVID-19Īs in her previous works, Lawson is sure to include her supportive, yet often confused, family, particularly husband Victor and daughter, Hailey, whose presence in Lawson's life and writings are so intertwined you can't have one without the others. We have all heard 'Do what you love even it if means you are broke,' to which Lawson adds, 'Exceptions: gambling, heroin, prostitutes, alcohol, and most other fun things.' 'Awkwarding Brings Us Together,' based on her viral tweet regarding an awkward exchange with an airport cashier, is comedy gold. In 'These Truisms Leave Out a Lot of the Truth,' Lawson's take on oft-used phrases is a delight. Lawson's skills as a humorist are on full display in the essay 'Six Times I've Lost My Shoes While Wearing Them: A List that Shouldn't Exist.' What begins as an unrealistic and ridiculous premise evolves into, 'Of course! How can it not happen? Anyone can lose the shoes they are wearing six times!' She continues to delight with the side-splitting introvert's anthem 'All of the Reasons Why I'm Not Coming to Your Party' and throws caution, and good sense, to the wind with 'Business Ideas to Pitch on Shark Tank.' But it is more than the sum of its parts. Does that mean that every essay in and of itself is perfect? No. The blogger, humorist and author – whose books include “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” “Furiously Happy” and “You Are Here” – has written a collection of essays that beautifully balances belly laughs with gut-wrenching truths. The brokenness becomes part of the story and the beauty of the piece.'Īnd it is Lawson's humor, candor and finely honed writing that is the gold that unites this collection of 37 pieces into one exceptional work. She writes that Kintsugi is 'the art of fixing broken things with lacquer dusted with powdered gold to treat repair as part of the history, rather than disguising the breakage. Midway through Jenny Lawson's latest book, ' Broken (in the best possible way)' (Henry Holt & Co., 304 pp., ★★★★ stars out of four), is the essay 'Sometimes There Is Beauty in Breaking.' In it, Lawson refers to the Japanese art of Kintsugi.

Broken by jenny lawson