Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is a wacky, mostly true memoir written by The Bloggess, Jenny Lawson. The book is comprised of a series of stories about Lawson’s life from early childhood, up through her marriage and beyond.
As you read this book you’ll find yourself shaking your head in utter disbelief that anyone could grow up the way the author describes. Lawson, provides photographic proof throughout the book and honestly without those pictures you would never believe that her stories were even remotely real.
The funniest stories revolve around Lawson’s father, a taxidermist who brings home road kill on a regular basis to amuse his children. Of course, Jenny and her younger sister are absolutely frightened by his antics, but that doesn’t stop him from bringing dead animals into their home.
This book isn’t for the faint of heart. There are a lot of curse words thrown in for good measure and Lawson herself states that many people will be offended by her words.
The book feels a bit like an ode to the dysfunctional. Many of her stories are both funny and disturbing. As I read the book I often wondered if I should cry for the author or laugh at the antics she described. I think that may be the point of this book. Perhaps the goal is to realize that no matter how messed up your upbringing might be humor makes it all much easier to swallow.
If nothing else this book will probably help you realize that ‘normal’ is all relative. If you didn’t grow up with raccoons wearing shorts and turkeys following you to school then you probably started off a lot differently then Lawson did.
Note: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.