Growing Up in Jenny Lawson's Family: A Wild Ride

Ever wondered what it's like to grow up with a taxidermist father? How about having raccoons as pets?

Jenny Lawson's memoir Let's Pretend This Never Happened takes you on a wild ride through her unconventional upbringing. You'll discover the hilarious and often bizarre experiences of the Jenny Lawson family, from armadillo races to dinner tables adorned with stuffed animals.

Get ready to laugh, cringe, and maybe even relate as we dive into Jenny's extraordinary childhood and beyond.

A Childhood Like No Other

Growing up in the Jenny Lawson family was anything but ordinary. If you think your childhood was weird, wait until you hear about hers! Jenny's father ran a taxidermy business from their home, which meant their dinner table was often graced with large wild animals. Can you imagine sitting down to eat and finding a bobcat staring back at you? The Jenny Lawson family's unconventional lifestyle set the stage for a childhood filled with bizarre and hilarious experiences.

But that's not all. Jenny's dad had a knack for surprising the family with live snakes and even once brought home a chilled venomous serpent. Talk about keeping the family on their toes! He'd wake his daughters at ungodly hours to show off his latest animal acquisitions and even used deer scent as aftershave. It's safe to say that Jenny's childhood was a wild ride from start to finish.

Unconventional Pets and Competitions

While most kids had dogs or cats, Jenny's family took pet ownership to a whole new level. They raised raccoons as household pets, giving a whole new meaning to the term "exotic pets." And if you think your family competitions were intense, try competing in armadillo races! Jenny's father even won a unique ring as a prize in one of these unusual contests.

The Lawson household was a menagerie of both live birds and duckling depictions. It's no wonder Jenny developed such a unique perspective on life. Growing up surrounded by taxidermy and live animals certainly isn't your average childhood experience.

Navigating Social Norms

With such an unconventional upbringing, it's not surprising that Jenny struggled to understand social conventions and fit in with her peers. Imagine trying to explain to your classmates why you traded a cat for fifty cents or why turkeys were your best friends at school. It wasn't exactly the recipe for popularity.

Jenny often felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, especially when her parents showed up at school events with troublesome animal byproducts. Let's face it, having household birds that didn't work properly wasn't exactly considered "cool" by most standards.

Anxiety and Mental Health Challenges

Jenny's unique childhood experiences weren't the only thing that shaped her worldview. She also grappled with severe anxiety, which affected her daily life in profound ways.

Social Interactions and Coping Strategies

From a young age, Jenny found social situations incredibly challenging. She'd experience hyperventilation as a child and often seek refuge in bathrooms during adult gatherings to avoid interactions. Can you imagine feeling so anxious that you'd vomit before leaving the house? That was Jenny's reality from as young as seven years old.

To cope with her anxiety, Jenny developed various strategies. She uses humor to express her worries to others and sometimes retreats to quiet spots when things get overwhelming. She's not afraid to abruptly leave social situations when they become too much to handle. Jenny also relies on medication like Xanax to manage her anxiety.

Impact on Personal and Professional Life

Jenny's mental health challenges don't just affect her social life; they spill over into her personal and professional realms too. She often experiences intrusive thoughts and has a tendency to catastrophize, imagining outlandish scenarios like her deceased dog coming back to life à la Stephen King.

Despite these challenges, Jenny's shown incredible resilience. She's pursued treatment and assistance, even in the face of professional setbacks and suicidal thoughts. Her determination led to a correct diagnosis of an autoimmune disease and subsequent treatment. Jenny's willingness to try various therapies, from aspirin to self-injections and acupuncture, demonstrates her unwavering quest for relief.

Finding Humor in the Absurd

Despite (or perhaps because of) her unconventional upbringing and mental health challenges, Jenny has developed a knack for finding humor in the most unexpected places.

The Chatty Enchanted Rodent

One of Jenny's most memorable childhood experiences involves a "chatty enchanted rodent" named Stanley. This wasn't a real squirrel, mind you, but an inanimate one operated by her father. It's a testament to Jenny's ability to find humor in the absurd, reflecting both the naivety of youth and the peculiarity of her circumstances.

Animal Encounters and Self-deprecating Humor

Jenny's life seems to be a magnet for humorous and unusual animal encounters. From defensive mother hens to odd worries about her dogs returning from the dead, she's experienced it all. She's not afraid to poke fun at herself either, embracing her unique traits and recognizing the comedic aspects of her own actions.

This talent for finding humor in stressful or awkward situations has become Jenny's trademark. Whether it's a childhood game gone awry or an accident involving frozen birds, she manages to find the silver lining of laughter in life's absurdities.

Marriage and Motherhood

Jenny's unique perspective extends to her family life as well. Her relationship with her husband, Victor, and her experiences as a mother provide plenty of material for her humorous observations.

A Match of Opposites

Victor's calm demeanor serves as a counterbalance to Jenny's mental health challenges and quirky personality. Their relationship is marked by amusing stories that reveal deeper challenges and necessary compromises. From playful notes about household chores to heated exchanges about cleanliness standards, Jenny and Victor navigate their differences with humor and dedication.

Parenting Adventures

As a mother, Jenny initially aimed to give her daughter, Hailey, a childhood vastly different from her own. She started with aspirations of ballet lessons and private schooling, but soon found herself torn between shielding Hailey from her own wild experiences and introducing her to the enriching rural lifestyle that shaped her character.

Parenthood has brought Jenny both joy and challenges. From the awe of holding her newborn daughter to guiding her through the loss of a beloved pet, Jenny's parenting journey is filled with touching moments and inevitable hurdles.

Book Tour Shenanigans

Jenny's adventures didn't stop with motherhood. Her book tour for Let's Pretend This Never Happened brought its own set of unique experiences and challenges.

Battling Anxiety on Tour

The intense schedule and weird incidents of the book tour often left Jenny feeling stressed and disconnected from reality. To manage her anxiety, she employed various strategies, from collaborating with another blogger to take on a 'contrarian role' to using prescribed medication. She even wore a top with a preemptive apology, anticipating potential disappointments.

Unexpected Moments and Gifts

The tour was filled with humorous events and unexpected twists. Jenny found herself signing a chicken after a mix-up involving Tom Brokaw, and was surprised when someone offered her a live cat as a gift during a book signing. Fans brought her an array of unusual presents, from a cowboy-attired squirrel to various body parts and household items for signing.

Perhaps the most memorable incident involved a woman attempting to sneak an alligator onto an airplane. As Jenny breezed through security, her husband Victor was subjected to an exhaustive search, adding an extra layer of absurdity to the situation.

Through it all, Jenny's book tour proved to be a whirlwind of emotions, comic relief, and unexpected events, showcasing her adaptability and deep connection with her audience. It's just another chapter in the wonderfully weird life of Jenny Lawson, proving that growing up in an unconventional family can lead to some truly extraordinary experiences.