Happy: Final Review

Happy by Alex Lemon is not even close to being one of the "happiest" books I've ever read, but it is one of the best. I would have expected nothing less from one of my favorite poets. As with his poetry, Happy is full of stellar imagery and descriptions and raw emotions.

"The neighborhood is fragmented, milky orange and diamondy, and the nothingness inside me seems impossibly heavy," (201). 

I have to go back to what Nick Flynn said about this book because it stood out to me from the very beginning, and now that I've finished it, I understand it completely: "The pyrotechnic prose of Alex Lemon's memoir creates an electrifying portrait of a body in crisis, and the way the soul is inexorably, reluctantly, dragged along . . . If ever a book was written in blood, it is this one."

Alex suffers and endures more physical pain than anyone should, especially as a student in college. Most college students are partying, trying to fit in, trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do with the rest of their lives, and to experience what Alex did would be unbearable on top of all that. As a recent college graduate, this book really struck a chord with me, especially since I've had more than my fair share of trips to the emergency room and it's hard going through things like that pretty much alone. Your family is far away and you don't have many reliable friends. It's amazing what the body and soul can endure and Happy shows, more than once, a young man at his breaking point both emotionally and physically.

He bares all to his readers, holding nothing back. He's dealt with fits of rage and depression after his brain surgery, taking his anger out on his mom, his friends, and most frequently, himself. He spends most of his time alone as he begins his long and slow recovery and the things he can no longer do such as reading and walking haunt him daily:

"Not being able to read is making me crazy. Words crawl across the page like they're alive, like bugs. They jump. They tick," (182). 

"I want to move, to lose myself in a book," (182).  

The end of the book is bittersweet and full of more of the imagery that hooked me on Lemon's writing in the first place.

"The tightness, the just-bearable despair in my chest thaws, melts, breaks apart. Light courses through my veins. I can feel the world pinballing around me," (209).

"It feels like there's a beehive in my chest and it is on fire and it is beautiful and it is there always and forever and I start to weep I'm so happy," (212).

There is perseverance and acceptance. Alex never gives up, regardless of how many times he wanted to. And he accepts that some things can not be changed. In the end, he learns how to live up to his nickname once again: Happy.

Overall, this book gets Starbucks Peppermint Mocha (4 out of 5). I love almost everything about this book. My one problem was that one section of the book was a complete run-on sentence. Although I liked the style, I had to reread it a few times to make sure I was getting it. The rest of the book had very few run-ons, so an entire section of just one long run-on just didn't really seem to fit for me. Aside from that, this book was wonderful and it's definitely worth reading. You can buy it on Amazon.com:
Thanks for reading!