Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened is the subtitle of Allie Brosh’s new book Hyperbole and a Half. The collection of illustrated life stories contains material mostly taken from her wildly popular blog of the same name. Devoted readers of her blog may find the book lacking in enough new material, but for casual readers such as myself, Brosh’s book serves as a great introduction to her work.
I first encountered the blog Hyperbole and a Half when the post Adventures in Depression went viral. The author’s struggle with depression are often touted as being some of the most revealing accounts of living with the disease. Brosh’s purposely crude drawings when coupled with the text often strike an emotional cord that cuts close to the bone for anyone who has ever struggled with such feelings:
It’s weird for people who still have feelings to be around depressed people. They try to help you have feelings again so things can go back to normal, and it’s frustrating for them when that doesn’t happen. From their perspective, it seems like there has got to be some untapped source of happiness within you that you’ve simply lost track of, and if you could just see how beautiful things are.
Brosh’s style is admittedly not for everyone. The language is often coarse, though I would argue it is absolutely essential for properly conveying a pessimistic state of mind. At times, her dark take on life comes across as absolutely hilarious. At other times, her honesty may strike some readers as overly self-indulgent. As a writer, her prose is far from being elevated or complex, but it gets the job done. The pictures, more often than not, take center stage.
The author’s true talent lies in sharing those less than perfect moments we’ve all found ourselves in. The author of Hyperbole and a Half has a penchant for invoking pity from reader as she recounts embarrassing childhood escapades, life with her emotionally damaged dogs, as well as how her coping mechanisms are indeed flawed. As a fellow gloriously imperfect human being, I most connected with this line:
For me, motivation is this horrible, scary game where I try to make myself do something while I actively avoid doing it.
Socrates stated long ago that the unexamined life is not worth living. Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half fully captures how we are all the sum of our parts–warts and all. There’s a lot of doom and gloom in life, and to sweep those parts of ourselves under the rug and simply put on a smile is not how a lot of us cope. Books like this give a voice to the often voiceless.
Have you read Brosh’s blog? What other accounts of dealing with depression might you recommend?
You can connect with Allie and her social sites via her blog or buy now via Amazon.
For more insight, read my Book Review Criteria. Please share responsibly. Jeri Walker, 2014.
A friend introduced me to this blog a while back. A very creative approach to talking about depression and emotional issues in general. Too many people can relate.
Leora, I think my all time favorite post of Allie’s is the one where she drew a pain scale where the pictures of the person in pain got progressively bloodier… I had it printed and on my bulletin board before I moved. I must find it.
Uncomfortable…not because of the language (I agree that it is necessary here) but because we all live with parts of these emotions…I think we l wonder if we have coping mechanisms that can get the job done. I agree it isn’t brilliant writing, but it’s brilliantly real
Jacquie, Brosh’s work really is “brilliantly real.” I like how you put it. I can guarantee my husband is glad I’m doing reading it now so I won’t be showing him every other drawing and commenting on it 😉
I have not read that blog but it sounds like I should. Depression runs in my family and perhaps this would help dealing with it.
Cheryl, the posts on Allie’s blog really do a great job of showing an over-active mind at work. I can totally relate… as I’m sure so many of us overly analytic and perfectionist types can.
My hunch is that writing and drawing about her depression in her own unique voice is one of Allie’s coping mechanisms. Whatever it takes. And I’m all for not sweeping things under the rug and being real. More power to her.
Jagoda, and what a coping mechanism its become with a traditionally published book and products to boot. I’ve put one of her t-shirts and coffee mugs on my Christmas list.
Maybe i am not prone to depression or some other reason – but i couldn’t quite relate.
Yes, i have sometimes such days when i wake up and i am sad for no reason – but i have learnt to snap out of it. it is not a state of mind for me, i feel sad from time to time and i tell myself that it is ok to, as long as it doesn’t turn into my constant state – and it doesn’t.
I find ways to entertain myself. Usually going out with friends, watching a super funny movie, or even being outside (even by myself) helps a lot. exercising does too.
Anyways, i was saying – i couldn’t relate to the blog (so i guess i won’t be reading it much – especially because i am a very empathic person and if you are depressed and talk to me how depressed you are, i will absorb that negative emotions and will depress myself as well – because you don’t feel well…)
BUT: i loved the graphics in that link you gave (Adventures in depression). To be honest, i would have never thought this is like true-story-type of post – i would have thought it is made for depressed people to have a different look at themselves and make them smile. I laughed out loud while reading the text in the graphics 😀
Diana, it seems you’ve developed positive coping mechanisms for dealing with blue moods. Not all of us are so lucky, though I agree with all the tactics you take. They just don’t always work for someone who is really feeling like they are at the bottom of despair. I’m glad you liked the graphics and got a laugh.
You seem to have a nack for finding people that are within the realms of my weirdness. I need to check out the blog. And I can fully relate to the motivation quote. I go through that on an everyday basis.
Jon, do check out her blog. I know you will love it. She’s so creative and puts the rest of us to shame…
Your review definitely intrigues me and makes me want to check out Allie Brosh’s book and blog. While I don’t suffer from depression, I am constantly trying to understand my quirks and complexities…I think that if I can figure out WHY I do or feel something, then I can have a better control over those feelings and actions, especially if they’re negative or emotionally destructive. I can appreciate real words even if the writing may not be perfect. Thanks for the Socrates quote too!
Pamela, I think you’ll like Allie’s blog. She not only explores her depression, she also explores her quirky childhood, quirky family, and quirky pets.
My husband discovered and shared Allie Brosh’s blog back when she was just being darkly funny, before she disappeared for a while. We worried where she had gone. Then she resurfaced bravely with new material on her depression. Thank you for bringing Allie back to my attention with your review. I need to buy her book for someone I love who needs to know she is not alone.
Ann, I too have thought about giving her book to a couple of people who could be helped by her work.
Loved this post, Jeri, because Alllie’s blog and the depression post were all occurring at the same time that I was diving into the world of my own blog. It remains a riveting story to me still as I’ve had bouts of depression (I think more people have than either admit it or realize it) and have been in the a “bad place” a few times. I was able to listen to her interview (caught it by pure chance) on NPR driving in the car a couple of weeks ago. I literally called in late to work so that I could hear the entire hour long interview. She is so incredibly well-spoken and I was fascinated to hear her candor talking about what a horrible child she felt she truly was (lighting her sister on fire – sort of) to being a very accomplished artist that is corraled specifically into a unique genre of the Hyperbole pictures. Thank you for this post, Jeri! 🙂
Mike, I’m sorry to hear you have had bouts with depression. So have I. Though it does help that work like Allie’s exists and puts a face on what it really feels like. I’ll have to see if I can find her NPR interview online. I would love to listen to it.
This was so interesting. Depression is something that many suffer from but mask it in fear of being judged. The fact that she put it out there takes courage at the same time offering “your not alone” feeling to many. I will definitely be check her blog out. 🙂
Susan, I know Allie’s blog will especially appeal to you since both of you draw your own images.
I remember her blog post on depression well. That’s when I also first heard of Allie, but I didn’t know she had a book out now. Will add to my list as I’m pretty sure I’ll like her style!
Laura, I definitely had a good time reading this one 🙂 Not that I want to admit to enjoying such pessimism, but I can totally relate to the author’s mindset. Life definitely isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s good to be able to find the humor in the struggles that living brings.
I liked how she added all the drawings to go along with her story. It made it come alive.
Cassi, I think we’ll be seeing more and more books take the route of Brosh’s book. The internet is changing how we view the link between pictures and text. Drawings just aren’t for kids books anymore, and that’s good thing.
Have never read her blog so I checked it out on Alexa. Jeri, do you realize you have ten times as many readers as Hyperbole and a Half?
Seems writers dealing with depression or other mental problems are popular all over the world. In Sweden there’s Ann Heberlein, who is a manic depressive intellectual. Have not read her book about neither wanting to live nor die. But I have read some of her intellectual books that are excellent.
Catarina, I’m sure Allie has many more readers than this blog. Maybe Alexa doesn’t rank blogspot blogs as equally as self-hosted ones. Though it must be every blogger’s dream to achieve the type of success Allie has. She deserves all of it.
I guess I have been blessed with not experiencing depression or anyone I know.… I do admire Allie for putting her feelings on the line which makes us realize that anyone can be vulnerable.
Arleen, so many people suffer from depression and Allie’s book helps put a face on an often misunderstood disease.
Wow, she doesn’t pull any punches. Good for her. You can’t be wishy washy writing about depression. Very brave of her to get out there and deal with her problems in this ultra-confrontational manner. Her humour takes some of the sting out of it, but ouch! It’s hard not to feel the pain.
Krystyna, I also listened to her most recent NPR interview the other day. While it didn’t surprise me how well-spoken she was, it did catch me a bit off guard that we seemed to sweet since her blog posts don’t really focus on that aspect of her personality. It’s always so interesting and revealing how others decide to depict themselves.
Being around someone that is depressed is not fun for anyone in involved including the depressed person. It’s funny how people drink when they are depressed but it just a downer and makes them more depressed. Crazy.
Krystle, drinking is definitely an unfavorable coping mechanism to those suffering from depression. Bosh really makes it clear what depression is like, so I hope her work will help many people gain a better understanding of how debilitating it can be.
Brosh is great. I even bought one of her shirts (the “I love this alot” one).
Jer how is a theme this sweet looking not responsive?
Greg, I’ve looked at her products a few times, but have yet to take the plunge and make a purchase. When I do, I think it’ll be the t-shirt about needing to clean all the things.