Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is a “mostly true” memoir by Jenny Lawson, which presents her life as a series of humorous, albeit disturbing stories. Her funny stories are designed to help her reader realize that “... you are defined not by life’s imperfect moments, but by your reaction to them” (Dedication).
Having finished the book, I can now examine her rhetorical strategies on a large scale. One of the most important things Lawson does is arrange her book chronologically. Lawson begins at the beginning of her life and works through her years growing up, and then her years as an adult. While this might sound rather basic, it is crucial to her work due to the fact that Lawson clearly (as discussed in the previous blog post) wants her audience to feel a connection to her as a person. Thus, as Lawson shares the funny, happy, and devastating moments of her life from as far back as she can remember, it is as if Lawson’s story becomes part of the reader’s story, as a close family friend, or even as a family member. Therefore, when she later references earlier times, the reader can think humorously to him or herself “I remember when Jenny did that!” just as two friends recounting tales from childhood would do. This closeness between author and audience is key to Lawson’s achievement of her goal to embrace the imperfections of life, because Lawson is a clear example of someone who has, and who is, to the reader, very likeable.
Another overarching strategy used by Lawson is to creatively name her titles. Again, while a seemingly basic strategy, it is very effective. Though Lawson’s stories were interesting, after a few, interest might drop off. The cleverly named chapters were a constant motivation to keep reading, as they piqued curiosity. Titles like “Thanks for the Zombies, Jesus” and “Honestly, I Don’t Even Know Where I Got That Machete: A Comic Tragedy in Three Parts Days” make the reader confused enough to want to know what Jesus has to do with Zombies, and why Jenny (I feel like I can use her first name after reading this book, which means she reached her goal) has a machete! Without readers interested enough to keep consistently reading, Jenny Lawson could never attain her goal. However, with the strategies she used, I remained interested and believe that she did indeed achieve her goal.
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