How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay

Hardcover, 272 pages

English language

Published by Penguin Life.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-83321-6

Warm, insightful, and witty, the first book of advice from New York Times–bestselling author Jenny Lawson—aka the Bloggess

Jenny Lawson is full of contradictions. She’s a celebrated author but battles self-doubt, paralysis, and anxiety. She’s an award-winning humorist but struggles with treatment-resistant depression. The question she’s most often asked by people is “How do you do it? How do you keep going even when it feels impossible? How do you keep creating?” This book is her answer.

In How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay, Jenny shares one hundred humorous, heartfelt, and genuine tools and tricks that she relies on to keep her going even when her brain isn’t working properly due to depression, anxiety, and ADHD. She also offers tips to stay passionate and focused on creative endeavors, especially when everything around you is saying to give up.

With chapters like “Wash Your Brain More …

Warm, insightful, and witty, the first book of advice from New York Times–bestselling author Jenny Lawson—aka the Bloggess

Jenny Lawson is full of contradictions. She’s a celebrated author but battles self-doubt, paralysis, and anxiety. She’s an award-winning humorist but struggles with treatment-resistant depression. The question she’s most often asked by people is “How do you do it? How do you keep going even when it feels impossible? How do you keep creating?” This book is her answer.

In How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay, Jenny shares one hundred humorous, heartfelt, and genuine tools and tricks that she relies on to keep her going even when her brain isn’t working properly due to depression, anxiety, and ADHD. She also offers tips to stay passionate and focused on creative endeavors, especially when everything around you is saying to give up.

With chapters like “Wash Your Brain More Than You Wash Your Bra” (sleep, you beautiful human), “Work on Easy Mode” (asking for accommodations is okay!), “Celebrate Good Times, Come On!” (make it a habit to celebrate the good things), and many more, How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay is a balm and companion, reminding us all that we are not alone. It’s for anyone who struggles with self-doubt, guilt, motivation, and mental blocks and wants to rekindle their passion for creating. Funny, simple, empathetic, and inspirational, it will encourage you not to just survive but to find and curate joy in the face of difficult times.

2 editions

Tsundoku reviewed How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay by Jenny Lawson

Spoiler: this is about being creative while dealing with mental health, not about Dealing With Personal Feelings and Life during the Times We Live In

5 stars

For context for what I'm about to say: I checked this out on Libby only seeing the title, not the subtitle. So just the "How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay" part. So I assumed it'd be self-help along the lines of that tweet of "Water your plants or you'll have fascism AND dead plants". It is actually (obviously if you read the subtitle) about creativity while struggling with Mental Health issues like depression and anxiety and Neuro-divergence (ADHD specifically, I do not think Lawson is autistic, but there's a few parts of the book where she gives examples of how it might apply to someone who is a different flavor of Neurodivergent).

It's as breezy a read as you can get regarding the topic without it being fake stuff like "do yoga at sunrise to never feel sad 🤗" And also, while it can be read straight …

For context for what I'm about to say: I checked this out on Libby only seeing the title, not the subtitle. So just the "How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay" part. So I assumed it'd be self-help along the lines of that tweet of "Water your plants or you'll have fascism AND dead plants". It is actually (obviously if you read the subtitle) about creativity while struggling with Mental Health issues like depression and anxiety and Neuro-divergence (ADHD specifically, I do not think Lawson is autistic, but there's a few parts of the book where she gives examples of how it might apply to someone who is a different flavor of Neurodivergent).

It's as breezy a read as you can get regarding the topic without it being fake stuff like "do yoga at sunrise to never feel sad 🤗" And also, while it can be read straight through in one sitting, it is designed so you can come back and reference it!

I'll be honest: I liked this book so much I plan on buying myself a copy for my shelves.

Tsundoku

rated it

10 hours ago

Subjects

Self-help
Creativity
Mental Health