Happy: A Memoir Audiobook

" With epigraphs from Denis Johnson and The Tempest, I had a feeling this would be good. I am correct thus far. "

" Raw, gritty, real. Understand you'll hate the author. If you're easily offended or insist on having a hero, don't read this memoir. "

" Happy is brutally honest and even more brutally beautiful because of it. "

" This is a book I think Oprah's book club would love in terms of the subject matter. Alex Lemon is a student at Macalester College, playing baseball and getting drunk with his friends when he begins to suffer from seizures that require brain surgery. If this trauma weren't enough, it becomes evident that the author is also a sexual abuse survivor and has a somewhat unique relationship with his mother. In terms of writing-style, however, I'm not sure Oprah and her club would approve. Lemon is vulgar - and obsessed with drinking, drugs, and sex. In short, I suppose, he is a college male - understandably angry and frustrated given his circumstance in life. The narrative is pieced together in a fashion that is somewhat difficult to follow - I found it irritating, though I suppose it probably also reflects Lemon's own view of the world in fragments given his condition. Despite being so young, Lemon has clearly lived a full life and had much to talk about in his memoir. For me, however, the presentation left a lot more questions than it did answers, and I found it to be a promising, but ultimately unsatisfying read. "

" He is a friend of mine. So there's that. But this an amazing and sad story about illness and what can come of it or with it. It's also a great love letter to his mom. "

" Well, I did read every word... Kinda grim. "

" Raw and surprisingly earnest. "

" This book was very sad. I found the title and his nickname ironic. I felt badly for him and his mother. The language in the book is harsh but sitting I suppose for an 18-year-old boy--- appropriate. Don't read this book if you are looking for a feel-good ending. "

" Interesting memoir (I'm into memoirs!) of a 19 year old college student who suffers from a couple debilitating brain hemorrages followed by a surgery to correct it. I enjoyed how descriptive he was with his feelings, his depression surrounding all of those things. "

" Outstanding memoir and from a Fort Worth/TCU author to boot! I couldn't put this book down-I read it straight through in about two hours. Great read! "

" look - another memoir! "

" As a published poet, Lemon brings an amazing voice to his difficult story. I could clearly picture his world and sympathize with all that he faced, much of which was brought to light by his illness rather than caused by it. "

" Incredibly moving. This guy knows how to put a sentence together! "

" Not my favorite memoir--too much "hilarity" found in vomit, sex jokes, booze, and drugs. The medical issue was interesting. "

" A favorite memoir. Right up there with memoirs by other favorite writers of mine like Gregory Orr, Chris Offutt, Nick Flynn, and Tom Andrews. Alex was already an A+ poet and now he's an A+ prose stylist, too. "

" Great prose. You know what's coming and you get just as strange and tired a feeling as he does. "

" This is staggering. It's an amazing story with so much happening. Devastating, hopeful. "

" Disappointingly shallow in scope, he glosses over the rampant substance abuse that would have also caused him issues during his college career. The story is deeper than he allows the narrative to take the reader. "

" The most interesting part of this book was the half-sheet dust jacket design. I was really disappointed that the story and the jacket synopsis didn't seem to be about the same book, in my experience. "