Author Allie Brosh
In
2013 Allie Brosh published "Hyperbole and a Half", an assemblage of
humorous and touching snippets about her life, rendered as cartoon
drawings with captions and anecdotes. The following years were
challenging for Brosh, but she continued drawing and writing, and the
result is this follow-up book, which - though still funny - tackles some
difficult issues.
In "Solutions and Other Problems", Allie writes about trapping herself in a bucket as a toddler; 
having a five-year-old stalker; 
horse poop appearing in her childhood home;
teaching tricks to animals; 
buying bananas;
her struggle with cancer; 
her sister's suicide; 
her dimwitted/sneaky/manipulative dogs;
obstreperous technology; 
a hammer-happy neighbor; 
her cat's favorite toy mouse; and much more.
Since it's always great to have a laugh, here a few examples of Brosh's amusing tales.
When
Allie was 3-years-old she became curious about her next door neighbor, a
fortyish bachelor named Richard. Being a clever tyke Allie found a way
to crawl out of the dog door of her home and creep into the cat door of
Richard's house. 
The
youngster proceeded to skulk around Richard's house and occasionally
watch him sleep. Little Allie would also abscond with some of Richard's
things - a shoe, a spoon, a spatula, etc. - and hide them in her dresser
drawer.
Allie's
parents noticed that the child disappeared sometimes, and when they
asked where she was, Allie said she'd been "hanging out with Richard."
Horrified by visions of a child predator, Allie's folks confronted the
neighbor, who claimed to have no idea what they were talking about.
Allie was 'outed' when she hid Richard's live cat in her drawer. 
*****
Brosh's family had a big brown hairy dog, called the pile dog, that contracted end-stage liver disease. 
A
symptom of this illness is water retention, and the dog developed a
hugely distended abdomen. When summer arrived Brosh had to shave the
dog's swollen tummy, but put a sweater on her for heat retention. 
A
broken air conditioner required the services of a repairman, who kept
staring and staring at the pile dog.....and finally asked what kind of
animal it was.
Brosh
writes, "You don't even ask that question if you have any guesses - any
guesses at all. Absolutely nobody wants to seem the sort of fool who
can't tell the difference between a goat and a pony. If there's a chance
it's an animal you've heard of, it isn't worth it.
Allie
speculates the serviceman was thinking, 'Is it an illegal monster from
outer space living with you here?' The family told him it was a dog, but
Brosh doesn't think he believed them.
*****
Brosh's
childhood diary is full of training plans, like plans to perform real
magic; plans to teach her dog to read; plans to become a wolf; plans to
teach her friend to draw faster and better; and more.
When Allie
was six, she thought she'd discovered the secret to breathing
underwater. The idea was to get a balloon, blow into it - so it's filled
with air - and then breathe back and forth into it forever.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. 
*****
One
of Brosh's most poignant chapters deals with helping 'ugly' children
feel better about themselves. You can relate the story of The Ugly
Duckling - about an unattractive baby bird that grows up to be a
gorgeous swan.....
.....but the children might stay ugly.
You can talk about Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, whose 'disability' helped Santa on a foggy night.
Or you can tell the kids about the ugliest frog in the world.
"Once
upon a time there was an ugly frog. And the world isn't fair, so it
didn't grow up to be pretty or successful - it just stayed how it was. 
Then one foggy Christmas Eve, the frog realized that everything is equally ridiculous. And it went sledding, because why not." 
*****
The
book is filled with stories, observations, and anecdotes, ranging from
the bittersweet to the hilarious. Highly recommended.
