"Let's Pretend This Never Happened" Review

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)

By Jenny Lawson

9/10

My Synopsis:

This is the story of Jenny Lawson.  It begins with her childhood.  It was no ordinary childhood.  Her account of her youth includes stories about magic squirrels, pet raccoons, and animal carcasses.  Her father was a taxidermist and her mother had the patience of a saint.  However strange her childhood had been, Jenny did manage to grow up and have more adventures of the wild and wacky kind.  She meets her husband Victor and the story follows their relationship through fashionable vests, dead dogs and giant metal chickens.  Ms. Lawson is the writer of an extremely popular blog entitled “The Blogess” and this is a collection of her life memories.

My Opinion:

I really enjoy reading memoirs.  I guess they make me feel like my life isn’t quite so screwed up compared to the author’s and Jenny Lawson’s “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened” is no exception.  I adored her descriptions of her childhood.  Her account is honest, raw, endearing and at times nauseating.  If you know what a gun cabinet is, you will appreciate her humor and experiences.  If you don’t, you will be exposed to a whole new world of culture . . . yeah, we’ll call it culture.  Once she ventures beyond her childhood the book got a little slow for me but did pick up again a bit later so it is worth reading in its entirety.  She even has some information that could ( and has for me) come in handy such as using mothballs and urine to drive away snakes.  The story about the extremely large chicken is one of my favorites along with the resurrection of her pet dog and her love of taxidermy animals in human situations.  I could totally relate to her experiences with anxiety having an anxiety disorder myself.  Her account is interesting and accurate.  There are pictures along the way which definitely add to the laughter.  There is also a sense of heart in this book that was rather unexpected.  It makes you realize that however crazy your childhood was, it is what made you you and most of us wouldn’t change that for anything in the world. I was fully entertained by this book.  It has made the list of my favorite memoirs and is near the top.  You’ll laugh.  You’ll laugh until you cry.  Jenny Lawson’s life will absolutely make your life feel more “normal” than ever.  9/10