Let's Pretend This Never Happened {book review}

Every so often I receive an email about a chance to review a book. I'll read over the description and if it sounds slightly interesting, sign on for the review. It then takes a couple of weeks before I actually get the book and it's a fun surprise when they show up on my doorstep.

Several weeks ago though, when this gem showed up on my doorstep, I really thought someone was pranking me. There's no way I would get lucky enough to get paid to read a book that's actually been on my list for a while... right? So I scoured my emails and sure enough, I had signed up to read Let's Pretend This Never Happened {A Mostly True Memoir} by Jenny Lawson, aka The Blogess.

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If you're not familiar with her blog, this is the one post that you must read, especially if you are married. Here is my big disclaimer about The Blogess: while her writing and stories are funny, she uses a lot of language in telling them. So married people should definitely read that story, but don't share it with your children!

Back to her book. Per my previous disclaimer about the language, I knew going into it that it would probably have some choice words in it. I wasn't prepared for just how many words that would be. Honestly, I almost gave up the book a few chapters in because I felt like I was having to skim so much to try and dodge some of the language. I ended up skipping a few chapters ahead and realized that she had scaled it back a great bit, which kept me reading.

Funny enough, Jenny actually grew up in Wall, TX which is not that far from Abilene. It was very easy to picture her stories because of my familiarity with the area. I won't say that I can relate to them, because her childhood was crazy. Just picture a dad that starts a taxidermy business and is way too comfortable with all animals. {she grew up with pet turkeys, just one of the many animals her dad adopted. later her dad would throw a baby bobcat on her eventual fiance. nothing says "welcome to the family!" like a bobcat!} While the book relies on a lot of humor to tell it's stories, it is the picture of a girl growing up, accepting change and eventually adapting with it. You will laugh, question if that many crazy things could really happen to one person {I think they did} yet still emphasize with her stories from childhood, marriage and motherhood.

Join the Blog Her Book Discussion today! What's your funniest childhood memory?

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.