“Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened”, Allie Brosh
Published October 29, 2013
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*
*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!
“And that’s the most frustrating thing about depression. It isn’t always something you can fight back against with hope. It isn’t even something - it’s nothing. And you can’t combat nothing.”
I found this book because of the iconic “Clean All the Things!” panel. Forever a part of Internet history.
This whimsical collection of essays and crudely charming illustrations (truly peak chaotic MS Paint energy) manages to be hilarious, honest, and weirdly profound all at the same time. Allie Brosh has a gift for making her mundane and mortifying (no offense) personal moments into comedy gold.
Beneath the meme-worthy hilarity, this book is also one of the most vulnerable and accurate portrayals of depression I’ve ever read. She doesn’t sugarcoat it—not when she’s sharing her attempts to be a functioning adult, not when she’s casually dropping a line that will haunt you for years.
I recommend this book to anyone who’s ever struggled or overthought things. I’ve loaned my copy to many friends in an attempt to humor and comfort them. Give this one a try.
Content Warnings
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of content and trigger warnings.
mental illness • suicidal thoughts • ableism
Goodreads | Storygraph | Bookshop (support your local bookstore)
Owned: thrifted paperback