Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened (2013) by Allie Brosh is a nonfiction adult graphic novel based on anecdotes from Brosh’s everyday life. It fits into the sub-genre of graphic memoir and follows many conventions of the memoir genre. Many of the chapters in the book are adapted from individual posts on her web-comic of the same name; however, some material is new for the book.

The book was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards in the Humor category. Additionally, it was popularly successful on the social media website Reddit and touted as a favorite read by celebrity Bill Gates.

This guide refers to the 2013 Touchstone/Simon & Schuster first paperback edition.

Summary

Content note: This overview, as well as the summaries for Chapters 6 and 7, mention feelings of suicidality and suicidal ideation. Details are not discussed. Mentions of mental health struggles recur throughout the guide but do not include any explicit details. Additionally, the author uses language that some readers may feel is ableist or generally insensitive to those with intellectual limitations.

Thematically, the book deals with mental health issues, raising dogs, and childhood adventures. Each chapter stands alone, though the frame stories and introduction sections connect chapters both chronologically and thematically. Early chapters of the book provide general overviews and context for Brosh as an author and as a memoir subject. Chapter 1: “Warning Signs” goes through Brosh’s disturbing behaviors across various points in her life, especially with regards to a letter Brosh put in a time capsule to her future self. Chapter 2: “The Simple Dog” is an introduction to Brosh’s love of dogs as well as dog communication, behavior, and motivation through the character of simple dog, who is one of her dogs. Chapter 3: “Motivation” sets up Brosh’s struggles with shame, guilt, and procrastination. This chapter forms the basis for later self-interrogation and self-recrimination in which Brosh engages.

At intervals throughout the book, Brosh focuses on pieces that contextualize amusing stories from her childhood. In Chapter 4: “The God of Cake,” she relates a childhood story wherein she became so obsessed with a large cake that she connived a scheme to eat the entire thing. Chapter 5: “The Helper Dog is an Asshole” expands upon Chapter 2 with the story of the adoption of Brosh’s second dog.

The theme of mental illness, specifically depression, recurs several times across interrelated chapters that detail Brosh’s struggle with the disease. Chapter 6: “Depression Part One” and Chapter 7: “Depression Part Two” both deal intimately with feelings of suicidal ideation. Brosh’s struggles with mental illness also recur in Chapter 13: “Thoughts and Feelings” as well as Chapters 16 and 17, a two-part two-chapter sequence titled “Identity Part One” and “Identity Part Two.”

After these two chapters that deal with heavier topics, the structure of the book returns to an amusing childhood anecdote. Chapter 8: “Lost in the Woods” regales readers with the story of a time Brosh’s mother got both Brosh and her sister lost in the woods of rural Idaho. Brosh’s family also appears in Chapter 10: “The Hot Sauce Debacle,” when her parents enter her in a DIY hot sauce eating contest with one of her father’s coworkers; in Chapter 12: “The Parrot,” where a family friend gives Brosh and her sister a talking toy parrot; and in Chapter 15: “The Party,” when Brosh has dental surgery, after which she convinces her mother to let her go to a friend’s birthday party.

Building upon Chapters 2 and 5, Chapter 9: “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving” returns thematically to life with dogs and to animal communication writ large. These themes are further expounded upon in subsequent Chapter 14: “Dogs’ Guide to Understanding Basic Concepts.” In contrast to her chapters about dogs, an errant goose appears in Chapter 12: “Dinosaur (The Goose Story)” as a surprise home invader.