The Bloggess

Hey! Let’s talk about Jenny Lawson. Because she’s awesome. (…and PG13. You've been warned.)

Jenny Lawson is also known as “The Bloggess”. It’s an auspicious title, but I think she’s earned it. For one thing, she spends her life making other people feel like this:

While she herself struggles with a variety of health issues (mental and physical) which leave her mostly feeling like this:

Her blog is fantastic, but it is more likely you've heard about the very funny book she wrote. “Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir” came out in April 2012, and debuted at #1 on the NYT Bestseller List. It is coming out in paperback soon, and there’s a lovely trailer on YouTube.

I’m nearly done listening to the audiobook, and I think I’m in love. We have a lot in common; except she’s more extreme in every way. For example: Yes, that is a real mouse. She owns it. His name is Hamlet von Schnitzel! She collects odd taxidermy, and tells the world about it. And when it’s especially good, she sells merch in her store based on her odd taxidermy.

There is much more to the Bloggess than dead animals, though. For one thing, she’s friends with Wil Wheaton. Everyone* knows you have to be cool to be friends with the Nerd King.
(*Read “Every dork like me”.)

What’s that? It’s a giant metal rooster named Beyoncé at her front door. Why? Well, before I started reading The Bloggess, I would have had trouble answering that question. Now I know the answer is: because it’s funny. You may need to read the story for yourself to truly understand. I think that’s where the brilliance of Lawson’s comedy comes from. The spontaneous and random things she does often incite puzzlement, embarrassment, or worse. But when she explains them from her own perspective you can’t help but laugh with her. Sometimes, they even begin to make sense.

You can find Jenny at her blog; on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook; and at the publications listed on her “about” page. She also started the Traveling Red Dress Project which celebrates amazing women. Find out more about that Here and Here on her blog. Thank you, Jenny for being my role model. I really mean that. No, really! Not even ironically.