Let's Pretend This Never Happened

A Mostly True Memoir

By: Jenny Lawson

Narrated by: Jenny Lawson

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Humor, 2013

For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris - Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.

Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives - the ones we'd like to pretend never happened - are in fact the ones that define us. In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes listeners on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor.

Chapters include: "Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel", "A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband", "My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking", and "And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane".

©2012 Jenny Lawson (P)2012 Penguin

Tickled Me with 'I know what you mean" stories

I can relate to much of her childhood experiences and how they morph into adult anxieties!

Laugh out loud

I actually laughed out loud listening to this book in my car. The perspective on life is definitely distinctive. This book is not for children and can be rude and crude but also refreshing. It made most of the lives I know seem very normal.

The best de-stressor

This is such a great book to kick back and de-stress to. Also if you don’t get the audiobook, you’re totally robbing yourself of like 50% of the experience. Can’t wait to read the next one! The only complaint I can think of is her voice is a little raspy, like maybe she was losing her voice? Kind of distracting but you get used to it.

Never forget this all happenedd

What made the experience of listening to Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) the most enjoyable?

Just having Jenny read it made it that much better. The bonus chapters didn't hurt either. She's brilliant.

What other book might you compare Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) to and why?

I wouldn't compare this to anything. Read it, you'll see what I mean.

Which character – as performed by Jenny Lawson – was your favorite?

I love all her stories about her father. He is ca-razy. Also, Victor. God bless Victor.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed until I cried. Also the combination of bad freeway traffic and her troubles having a baby made me a little sick, but that's mostly just a personal problem.

Any additional comments?

I'm looking forward to everything else she eventually puts out. I mean, my friend and I seriously drove to another state to see her and get our books signed. She was worth it.

I loved it.

I listened to it twice. Jenny Lawson is hysterical. I recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor.

Funny and she was designed for audiobooks!

Reading the book herself, she made me laugh repeatedly. What else is their to say?

I laughed all the way through!

I found this book in hard copy and love it so much I wanted it on audible for car trips. Jenny L. Is someone I’d love to hang out with. Her view of life is fresh and fun.

A Great Read

Absolutely worth your time. Great stories. Very honest and heartwarming. Love to listen to anything by Jenny Lawson.

Sometimes you connect...

I fully think Jenny's style and stories are not for everyone. I see reviews are either Love or Hate. I can understand some of the criticisms like the little sound effects before and after each chapter, or her singing each title - it can be "too much" for some. This was not my first Jenny Lawson audiobook listen, so I think that helps. Furiously Happy is probably my favorite. However this book is the stage-setting for her later books - therefore I'd recommend it to people that are familiar with her style.

Her voice may be "some normal white woman" as one review called it, and I don't think she would argue. I'd like to add that her voice is better described as "A highly sensitive soul tries her best as her family deals with farm-life just fine"

Her stories connect with me, as someone that needed more emotional help as a child, but everyone around me was doing fine without. Her stories are not of abuse or neglect, but the complexity of growing up "weird". She processes it with humor and sometimes grace, but not always and that's ok too.

Her book is funny, yes - but its also healing to listen to someone that can capture the complexity of mental illness and how it has shaped her world. She is a great storyteller in her own way, its a little less "polished" than some memoirs, but I enjoy it that way - just as it is.

If narration is super important to you: its not the worst narration I've listened to, but not the best either - in her other book Furiously Happy she talks about doing the audio recording for this book and she describes her own voice "as if Minnie Mouse were sick and spent too much time in Texas" and that's not a wrong description, but not as bad as she thinks it is. I'm glad she got to record in her own voice.

People at work thought I'd lost my mind!

Would you consider the audio edition of Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) to be better than the print version?

Yes, I rarely like books read by their authors but Jenny has a real knack for narration! It is her story she should be the one reading. I know read her blog and can imagine her saying it!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)?

Her father with the squirrel in the cracker box and Beyoncé the giant metal rooster knock knock!

Have you listened to any of Jenny Lawson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first for this Genre and Jenny Lawson.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Jenny suffers from panic attacks (which I do also) and I have never heard it put so perfectly, she really puts into words what feels indescribable, it felt like someone else finally really understood. It nearly moved me to tears.

Any additional comments?

I normally listen to "beach reads" at work. After buying this for my wife for a cross country journey and being told I must stop any other audiobooks to listen to this I did. It had me literally laughing out loud at work! I would have to stop, back up and re-listen to parts I missed because of laughing so hard! The other thing is she suffers from panic attacks (which I do also) and I have never heard it put so perfectly, she really puts into words what feels indescribable, it felt like someone else finally really understood. I hope she does a follow up and I am now dedicated to her blog! I love that she is from Texas and lived in Houston, as I do also, that aside it is truly one of the funniest things I have ever heard and I can not stop recommending it to people!