Blogger, author Lawson opens up about her new book

Writer Jenny Lawson thinks she may have set a record during the pandemic.

“I need to contact the Guinness Book of World Records, because I suspect that we are the longest-running bookstore that has never opened its doors to customers,” said Lawson, who had planned to open her muchanticipated Nowhere Bookshop in Alamo Heights roughly a year ago.

That was delayed by the pandemic. Lawson is hopeful Nowhere will open to the public later this year.

In the meantime, the shop is doing business online, and it is the official bookstore for this year’s San Antonio Book Festival. Lawson is also one of the virtual festival’s featured writers. She will chat about her new book, “Broken (in the best possible way),” which will be published Tuesday.

“Broken” is a collection of essays about Lawson’s life that includes laugh-out-loud accounts of such things as buying condoms for her dog Dorothy Barker and the awkward encounters she has when she reluctantly leaves her house. She also writes about her struggles with mental illness, including anxiety and depression, and her related battles with her insurance company.

She has tweeted about her fights to get medications and treatments covered by insurance. Writing about the hoops she’s had to jump through was cathartic, she said, and also has resonated with a lot of her fans.

“Even though the book hasn’t come out yet, so many people have read advance copies, and they’ve said, ‘Oh, my god, I thought I was the only one. I thought I was being a pain in the ass to my insurance company, I felt so bad about it,’ ” she said. “And I’m like, ‘It’s not you! It’s not you.’ Basics should be covered.”

“Broken” is her fourth book,