Jennifer Lawson (born December 29, 1973) is an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

ger.

Biography

Lawson is from

Wall, Texas Wall is an unincorporated community in Tom Green County, Texas, United States. According to the '' Handbook of Texas'', the community had an estimated population of 200 in 2000. The community is part of the San Angelo, Texas Metropolitan Statist ...

and is a graduate of

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

. She is the author of The Bloggess website and formerly wrote the Ill Advised blog, co-authored Good Mom/Bad Mom on the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

,'' and was a columnist for ''SexIs'' magazine. Lawson is well known for her irreverent writing style. She also used to write an advice column called "Ask The Bloggess" for The Personal News Network (PNN.com) until she quit because they stopped paying her. She lives with

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are invol ...

, depression,

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

avoidant personality disorder Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a Cluster C personality disorder characterized by excessive social anxiety and inhibition, fear of intimacy (despite an intense desire for it), severe feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, and an overre ...

, and mild obsessive-compulsive disorder. Lawson was recognized by the Nielsen ratings as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Mom Bloggers and ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' listed thebloggess.com as one of their Top 100 Websites for Women. She was a finalist in the 2010 Weblog awards for Best Writing and Most Humorous Writer, and a finalist in the 2011 Weblog awards for Best Writing, Most Humorous Writer and Weblog of the Year. In 2011 ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' named her the "Greatest Person of the Day" for her work in raising money for struggling families in December 2010. She was also interviewed on

CBC News Network CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

's '' Connect with Mark Kelley'' during the fundraising campaign. Lawson's autobiography called ''Let's Pretend This Never Happened'' was released on April 17, 2012, by Amy Einhorn Books. On May 6, 2012, it was the number one ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestseller. The book named Best Humor book in the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards. Her second book, '' Furiously Happy'', was released on September 22, 2015. It is a humorous look at Lawson's experience with depression and anxiety disorder, and it debuted in the number 3 spot of ''New York Times'' Bestseller list on October 11, 2015. It reached number one on the ''New York Times'' Bestseller list on July 3, 2016. The audiobook of ''Furiously Happy'', narrated by Lawson, won an Audie Award for best humor audiobook in 2016. Lawson's third book, ''YOU ARE HERE: An Owner's Manual For Dangerous Minds'', was released in March 2017. It is an adult coloring book/advice book illustrated and written by the author, and it debuted in the number 2 spot of ''New York Times'' Bestseller list on March 26, 2017. In August 2020, Lawson announced on her blog, The Bloggess, that she would release her next memoir, ''Broken (in the Best Possible Way)'', in 2021. It debuted in the number 3 spot of the New York Times bestseller list on April 25, 2021. ''Broken'' was awarded Best Humor Book of the Year in the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards. In 2019 Lawson opened an independent bookstore and bar, Nowhere Bookshop, in San Antonio, Texas. It was given the 2023 readers' choice award for Best Bookstore in San Antonio by San Antonio Magazine.

References

External links

*
Good Mom / Bad Mom

The Bloggess on SexIsInterview with Victoria Mixon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Jenny 1973 births American bloggers American women journalists Houston Chronicle people Living people People with avoidant personality disorder People with mood disorders People with obsessive–compulsive disorder 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women bloggers Shorty Award winners 21st-century American women writers