You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism
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- Create Date：2021-01-13 04:16:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Amber Ruffin
- ISBN：9781538719367
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Summary
*An Indie Next Pick*Writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers Amber Ruffin writes with her sister Lacey Lamar with humor and heart to share absurd anecdotes about everyday experiences of racism。 Now a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and host of The Amber Ruffin Show， Amber Ruffin lives in New York， where she is no one's First Black Friend and everyone is， as she puts it， "stark raving normal。" But Amber's sister Lacey？ She's still living in their home state of Nebraska， and trust us， you'll never believe what happened to Lacey。From racist donut shops to strangers putting their whole hand in her hair， from being mistaken for a prostitute to being mistaken for Harriet Tubman， Lacey is a lightning rod for hilariously ridiculous yet all-too-real anecdotes。 She's the perfect mix of polite， beautiful， petite， and Black that apparently makes people think "I can say whatever I want to this woman。" And now， Amber and Lacey share these entertainingly horrifying stories through their laugh-out-loud sisterly banter。 Painfully relatable or shockingly eye-opening （depending on how often you have personally been followed by security at department stores）， this book tackles modern-day racism with the perfect balance of levity and gravity。
Editor Reviews
★ 01/11/2021
Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Ruffin and her sister， Lamar， recount the racism Lamar has experienced growing up and living in Omaha， Neb。， expertly balancing laugh-out-loud humor and descriptions of deplorable actions。 The authors chronicle the “constant flow of racism one must endure to live in the Midwest，” with stories of Lamar getting consistently followed by security at JC Penney as a child， being publicly humiliated by a teacher who made her move to the back of the classroom， getting fired for calling out racist mistreatment from her boss， and being mistaken for Whoopi Goldberg and Harriet Tubman。 While the writing is consistently funny， the severity of the racism is never downplayed; Ruffin and Lamar show the necessity of embracing humor as a coping mechanism。 As Ruffin states at the book’s close， “This is not every experience and it is not a lifetime’s worth of stories。 And， with that said， isn’t it waaaay more than you expected？” This is an excellently executed account， rich with vivid insight。 Agent: Anthony Mattero， CAA。 （Jan。）
Reviews
notoriousEAM
，
If you're a fan of Amber Ruffin from her sketches on "Late Night With Seth Myers，" you'll be delighted to know her book is just as funny and just as poignant。 Obviously racism isn't funny but Amber Ruffin has a way of exposing outrageous behavior that leaves a lasting impression on the reader。
Natalie （readswithnatalieb）
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How can a book be so hilarious while telling incredibly disgusting stories？ To sum it up， you really won’t believe what happened to Lacey。 The collection of essays bounce back and forth between Amber and Lacey and to be honest， their sisterly banter is my favorite。 Amber told most of the stories， so you get to see her humor and wit shine。 If you’re not familiar with her work， please go watch an episode of her show on Peacock TV ASAP。To explain a little more， Amber and Lacey share some stories th How can a book be so hilarious while telling incredibly disgusting stories？ To sum it up， you really won’t believe what happened to Lacey。 The collection of essays bounce back and forth between Amber and Lacey and to be honest， their sisterly banter is my favorite。 Amber told most of the stories， so you get to see her humor and wit shine。 If you’re not familiar with her work， please go watch an episode of her show on Peacock TV ASAP。To explain a little more， Amber and Lacey share some stories they’ve endured over the years。 These stories range from situations at work， walking down the street， or shopping at a mall。 After a few stories， the question is asked， “I bet you’re wondering， why didn’t we call the cops？ And if you’re asking that， you need to start this book from the beginning。” Thank you for being so blunt Amber and Lacey。Please go pick up a copy。 It’ll be available tomorrow via Grand Central Publishing and this is a book everyone should have on their shelf。 Thank you so much for this ARC。 。。。more
Ellen
，
This book is SO GOOD。 Amber's voice specifically comes through SO VIVIDLY。 And her sister Lacey too。 This book was laugh out loud funny while also dealing with such a REAL， CURRENT problem。 This is a book about not just outright racism， though it is， but also the more insidious problem of microagressions。 The kinds of racism that white people don't even think of as racism because we've been taught that the KKK is the prototype of racism in America。 But all the smaller， everyday racist things peo This book is SO GOOD。 Amber's voice specifically comes through SO VIVIDLY。 And her sister Lacey too。 This book was laugh out loud funny while also dealing with such a REAL， CURRENT problem。 This is a book about not just outright racism， though it is， but also the more insidious problem of microagressions。 The kinds of racism that white people don't even think of as racism because we've been taught that the KKK is the prototype of racism in America。 But all the smaller， everyday racist things people say and do take their toll on Black and Brown people。 And those things are important too。 So， READ THIS BOOK， Y'ALL。 And think twice before you say stupid shit。I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
（a）lyss（a）
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I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review。This is a great book！A hard read at times with a very powerful message！ The Ruffin sisters share some stories and laughs。 There's a range of stories about racism shared in this book from sweet justice to physically angering。 Shared with humor， the aim to educate others， and support Black people in unburdening themselves by sharing their own stories this is a great read。 These stories are absolutely be I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review。This is a great book！A hard read at times with a very powerful message！ The Ruffin sisters share some stories and laughs。 There's a range of stories about racism shared in this book from sweet justice to physically angering。 Shared with humor， the aim to educate others， and support Black people in unburdening themselves by sharing their own stories this is a great read。 These stories are absolutely believable and important！This is a poignant and thoughtful book！ 。。。more
Alaina
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Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy！This is book made up of stories of racism from two sister's everyday lives。 Written mostly by Amber with a different font for Lacey to chime in， the book feels like a conversation and makes it a really quick read。Amber is a comedian and has written this book in a way that makes you laugh while still portraying the seriousness of these issues that people are dealing with everyday。 These stories are just everyday occurrences at the mall， Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy！This is book made up of stories of racism from two sister's everyday lives。 Written mostly by Amber with a different font for Lacey to chime in， the book feels like a conversation and makes it a really quick read。Amber is a comedian and has written this book in a way that makes you laugh while still portraying the seriousness of these issues that people are dealing with everyday。 These stories are just everyday occurrences at the mall， at work， and this is just ONE person's account and they were able to write an entire book full of them。 I cannot tell you how many times I had to stop reading and read some of these stories to my husband because while I know this happens， I was still completely blown away by it。 For me， this just showed me how important a book like this is， I know that I can always educate myself more and I think everyone should read this one！ 。。。more
Charisma D
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How is it possible that this book can be so cringe yet funny at the same damn time？ This book is literally a collection of stories of the racism Lacey has encountered。 While yes they’re all terrible and really eye opening for someone who is not black or has never experienced racism， they （her and her sister Amber） managed to make it funny to the point I’ve laughed more than 5 times throughout reading this book。 It is super important for everyone to read this book and actually take the time and r How is it possible that this book can be so cringe yet funny at the same damn time？ This book is literally a collection of stories of the racism Lacey has encountered。 While yes they’re all terrible and really eye opening for someone who is not black or has never experienced racism， they （her and her sister Amber） managed to make it funny to the point I’ve laughed more than 5 times throughout reading this book。 It is super important for everyone to read this book and actually take the time and read this one。 People may think， “nah， this really doesn’t happen in real life” and honestly。。。。 it happens like this completely。 Please open up this book and educate yourself。 🙃Thank you to grand central publishing for a copy of this book for an honest review。 。。。more
Cassandra Martin
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It’s hard for me to put into words how I feel about this book。 Is this a must read？ Yes。 Did I whisper （to myself） ‘WHAT THE EVER-LOVING HECK？？’ over and over while reading this book？ Yes。 Lacey and Amber shared only a few of their experiences with racism， especially in the Midwest。 This book felt like I was listening on their conversations as the two sisters annoy and love on each other。 The writing was insightful and funny。 Yes， you read that right。 I hope everyone takes the time to read this It’s hard for me to put into words how I feel about this book。 Is this a must read？ Yes。 Did I whisper （to myself） ‘WHAT THE EVER-LOVING HECK？？’ over and over while reading this book？ Yes。 Lacey and Amber shared only a few of their experiences with racism， especially in the Midwest。 This book felt like I was listening on their conversations as the two sisters annoy and love on each other。 The writing was insightful and funny。 Yes， you read that right。 I hope everyone takes the time to read this eye-opening book。 。。。more
Hannah P
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I've heard so much buzz about this book in the first week of the year that I basically dropped everything and binged this book when I received it。 It was so good and unlike anything I've ever read before。 This book is truly shocking in so many ways and definitely worth picking up。 This book is a collection of stories about racism， experienced by two sisters （Lacey and Amber） in their predominantly white workplaces， their church， their hometown and well， sadly everywhere。 It's filled with some tr I've heard so much buzz about this book in the first week of the year that I basically dropped everything and binged this book when I received it。 It was so good and unlike anything I've ever read before。 This book is truly shocking in so many ways and definitely worth picking up。 This book is a collection of stories about racism， experienced by two sisters （Lacey and Amber） in their predominantly white workplaces， their church， their hometown and well， sadly everywhere。 It's filled with some truly horrible tales but also many comical moments。 The book is super readable because the tone of the book is written such that you want to laugh along with them but you also finish each story with a bad taste in your mouth。 Amber and Lacey do a great job of delivering these tales to a wide variety of readers while keep it real。 I think anyone who reads this will learn a lot and be forced to take a walk in the shoes of the authors。Some of the scenes that made me physically laugh out loud were the anecdotes about their mom's coat style being copied by Lacey's stalker， the side by side photo's that were inserted of Lacey， the sisterly banter and the donut shop owner stare down。 These women are just so amazing and I would love to listen to an audiobook version of this book。 。。。more
April
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You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey is written by Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar。 Mostly written by Amber， she describes it this way:My sister Lacey is a lightening rod for hilarious racist stories。And also:When you hear these stories and think， None of these stories are okay， you are right。 And when you hear these stories and think， Dang， that's hilarious， you are right。 They're both。You may have seen Amber on the segment Jokes Seth Can't Tell You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey is written by Late Night with Seth Meyers writer Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar。 Mostly written by Amber， she describes it this way:My sister Lacey is a lightening rod for hilarious racist stories。And also:When you hear these stories and think， None of these stories are okay， you are right。 And when you hear these stories and think， Dang， that's hilarious， you are right。 They're both。You may have seen Amber on the segment Jokes Seth Can't Tell which is flipping hysterical。 Or perhaps you've seen her show on the Peacock app， The Amber Ruffin Show。 If you haven't then you definitely should。 She's really funny。 And whether you have seen these or you haven't， I highly recommend pulling up several segments on YouTube and watching them just to get her voice in your head。 Her sweet tone of voice and sarcastic delivery will absolutely make the reading experience better for you。The stories Amber and Lacey tell are unbelievable， by which I mean they are horribly believable。 Who are these people that would treat someone this way？ What is wrong with some people？ How do people who treat others this way sleep at night？ I really would like to know。 Anyone else telling these stories would be depressing， but somehow Amber makes it hilarious。I highly recommend this book。 I've even added it to my "Required Reading" list。 I can't wait to listen to the audio version because it is going to be ah-mazing！ 。。。more
2TReads
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The title does not lie。 These stories with dem yt pipo are truly inspired。 Racists sure are creative。 But Amber layered these stories with the humour that keeps the rage from taking over and Lacey is a true miracle， to have handled these experiences with the poise and strength that she did is a true testament to the magic that is Black people。Just read these stories， I guarantee you will laugh， sigh， cringe， and just marvel at the idiocy and ignorance。I took this picture to show the similarity b The title does not lie。 These stories with dem yt pipo are truly inspired。 Racists sure are creative。 But Amber layered these stories with the humour that keeps the rage from taking over and Lacey is a true miracle， to have handled these experiences with the poise and strength that she did is a true testament to the magic that is Black people。Just read these stories， I guarantee you will laugh， sigh， cringe， and just marvel at the idiocy and ignorance。I took this picture to show the similarity between those two dead leaves refusing to fall and the tenacity with which white people cling to their ignorant and baseless racist ideologies。Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar have joined forces to bring us a book filled to bursting with stories that reflect many of the idiotic and exaggerated racist tendencies and behaviours of white people。 The catch: these stories except maybe two are Lacey's， and they range from her workplace to malls right back to school and church。Even as Amber has wrapped these stories in humour， it is still jarring to read of these encounters， so even as you laugh， you are baffled at the stupidity and angry at the outright hate that Lacey has faced。 Yes we know of these stories or some version of these occurrences， but trust me， you won't want to miss these stories in the sister's voices。 Also their mom is a Boss。 。。。more
Susan
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This is such a great book and something all white people should read。
Nursebookie
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A must read book！ I bought a few to gift to my friends and guys！！！ Read this oh my gosh it’s amazing， eye opening and laugh out loud moments are hilariously insane！ I LOVED IT！
James
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Amber， it’s ok that you didn’t remember it。 🙌🏼
Cassie
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5 stars！ {Thank you to @grandcentralpub for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion。}This is a timely， humorous look at horrible everyday racism （that doesn’t sound possible， but Amber Ruffin is a talented comedian）。 This book is hilarious and humbling， with horrible anecdotes about everyday racism。 About NOW racism， not 1950s。 I was shaking my head in exasperation at the racist things people say and do， and laughing out loud at the delivery and quick wit。Everyone needs this book！ 。。。n 5 stars！ {Thank you to @grandcentralpub for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion。}This is a timely， humorous look at horrible everyday racism （that doesn’t sound possible， but Amber Ruffin is a talented comedian）。 This book is hilarious and humbling， with horrible anecdotes about everyday racism。 About NOW racism， not 1950s。 I was shaking my head in exasperation at the racist things people say and do， and laughing out loud at the delivery and quick wit。Everyone needs this book！ 。。。no， I’m serious - after the last week we had here in the US， everyone who hasn’t been personally followed by security at department stores should be yearning to read this， understand more， and speak/act out against these racist and oppressive acts。 DO THE WORK！ Also， Amber is hilarious， so you will devour this book！⠀ 。。。more
Jenny Lawson
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Can a book be hilarious and horrifying at the same time？ This one is。 It's my optional bonus book club pick for January。 You should read it。 Can a book be hilarious and horrifying at the same time？ This one is。 It's my optional bonus book club pick for January。 You should read it。 。。。more
Melanie Sligh
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Review: 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️。5/5Okay y’all， talking about racism isn’t supposed to be funny。 At all。 But literally could not stop cackling at the ridiculousness of the stories that happened to Lacey。 The delivery to these stories is what made this book phenomenal。 They make it a light funny story， then hit you with the， “this is why it’s unacceptable and why people should do better”。 This is like holding the hand of your friend and helping them understand their ways and what they can do to be be Review: 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️。5/5Okay y’all， talking about racism isn’t supposed to be funny。 At all。 But literally could not stop cackling at the ridiculousness of the stories that happened to Lacey。 The delivery to these stories is what made this book phenomenal。 They make it a light funny story， then hit you with the， “this is why it’s unacceptable and why people should do better”。 This is like holding the hand of your friend and helping them understand their ways and what they can do to be better。 I loved it。 The absolute AUDACITY and ridiculousness of the things that come out of people’s mouths surprise me。 I live in the South y’all， I know people have some audacity， but holy moly， they got some cojones to just say whatever they want。 I laughed at a few of these because I’ve been there。 Not physically， because y’all know I’m white as hell。 But remember， my mom， the Panamanian， is not white。 When she would ask on a few occasions， “how much”， the sales rep would be dismissive or say “a lot”。 She would never let them get the best of her， so she’d double down and buy on the spot and explain how “not expensive” it was。 （Oh， that’s it？） Take that， person。 Also， her favorite store is JCPenny， and thankfully our JCP is nothing like that JCP。 Here’s the thing， while it was funny， I know my Black friends are tired。 I see it in their eyes， can hear the weariness in their voice。 I know they are exhausted of just trying to fight daily for basic human decency。 I know some of these conversations have happened at work because I’ve had to explain， “as a person who says they “love everyone”， you cannot say that”。 But y’all， I was so emotionally exhausted just reading about all the bull crap Lacey had to go through。 If I’m just tired from reading it， I cannot even imagine the ounce of tiredness they have from actually living it。 See， when it got too much， I could shut the book， go about my day。 My friends cannot。 They can’t just take off their skin and say， “ah， that was hard， let me go not have to deal with racism again！”I think You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey takes on a different approach on how to show privileged folks that is does happen， just not to you。 I thought it was clever and unique and really hit the mark of drawing you in with quirky banter， make sure you’re sucked in with fun dialogue， and then hits you with the surprise moral unexpectedly。 Before I go， I want to say this。 In the past 2 books I read， it’s been a running joke that every person asks， “You know you look like” and they name a random Black person they look NOTHING like。 If you do this， y’all stop。 😂 Thank you Grand Central for the gifted copy！ You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey comes out on the 12th。 It’s a definite must read。 ❤️ 。。。more
Kari
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Wow is all I have to say after reading this book！ Albeit I laughed at the crazy stories; I don’t know how these black sisters have put up with so much disrespect in their lives。 I feel so terrible for them， even though it’s told in a funny way。。。。I know as a white woman some of the things done to POC would never be attempted on a white women。 The general group that all black women are placed into and are viewed to all be the same is uncalled for。 I am rather ashamed to see what racial injustices Wow is all I have to say after reading this book！ Albeit I laughed at the crazy stories; I don’t know how these black sisters have put up with so much disrespect in their lives。 I feel so terrible for them， even though it’s told in a funny way。。。。I know as a white woman some of the things done to POC would never be attempted on a white women。 The general group that all black women are placed into and are viewed to all be the same is uncalled for。 I am rather ashamed to see what racial injustices my white race has now placed upon my name for their embarrassing display of human indecency。 This book is a must read that opens up a window into racism on a whole lighter level。 。。。more
Jeremy Cleghorn
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Truly an eye opener， read it， think about it。。。 share it。
Olivia
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YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO LACEY is a fantastic read that mixes sisterly banter， stories of horrible racism， and humor。 The book is told as a series of stories about what happened to Lacey， in a conversational tone that makes the reader feel like they are a part of the discussion。 These stories are at times horrifying and expose some of the racism actually experienced by Black people in the US - of course， they could not include every instance of experienced racism over a lifetime， bu YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO LACEY is a fantastic read that mixes sisterly banter， stories of horrible racism， and humor。 The book is told as a series of stories about what happened to Lacey， in a conversational tone that makes the reader feel like they are a part of the discussion。 These stories are at times horrifying and expose some of the racism actually experienced by Black people in the US - of course， they could not include every instance of experienced racism over a lifetime， but what they do include is eye-opening。The writing is really compelling and pulls the reader in from the start。 I loved the banter between the sisters， and the inclusion of illustrative photos in key places。 This is a really clever book that makes you want to cry both from the terrible things that have happened to them since they were children （and these are not isolated events or unlike those experienced by others） and from laughing， because Amber and Lacey also include some humor throughout。 I also appreciated the 'morals' of the stories with some take-home messages and some points about allyship （which often falls short）。 For instance， the time that white people expect Black people to take to educate them （and then often argue with） and even white people who are ally-esque， and may try to help with educating other white people， but then may also give up quickly and assume they can't change that person - a privileged ability。This book is a great read to add to an educational series， and I definitely recommend it。 With humor among the heart-breaking stories， YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO LACEY is an eye-opening series of stories that will help to demonstrate what it is like to be Black in the US。Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Neha
，
Amber Ruffin is wonderful （and it turns out that her sister is hilarious too！） This book does an amazing job of describing the miasma of racism that Black people in this country have to wade through。 Lacey is truly a saint， but what this book interestingly showed was that she doesn't often have the option to react with outrage -- even though she is pleasant and polite all the time， people continue to be awful to her。I don't know if it's more mind blowing that there are so many narratively perfec Amber Ruffin is wonderful （and it turns out that her sister is hilarious too！） This book does an amazing job of describing the miasma of racism that Black people in this country have to wade through。 Lacey is truly a saint， but what this book interestingly showed was that she doesn't often have the option to react with outrage -- even though she is pleasant and polite all the time， people continue to be awful to her。I don't know if it's more mind blowing that there are so many narratively perfect stories that have happened， or that enough racist things have happened to Amber and Lacey （I talk about them as if we're close friends now） that even just the narratively perfect ones fill a whole book。 If you have been in conversations where people have insisted "No， you can't be sure if it's because of race"， "How do you know that they don't treat everyone that way"， "It's not about race， but it's about class": the authors have A-B tested enough situations to conclusively prove that not only is it often about race， it's often that the other person is a straight up racist。This is a great book to combat any gaslighting you may be experiencing about racist occurrences in your life （you're not imagining things， really！）。 It's also a great book to learn about some of the ways racism manifests in the 21st century in America， if you are privileged enough to not know about them firsthand。 。。。more
Nikki Gheen
，
I dived into this book without really knowing what I was getting into and I devoured it in a day。 This book is hilarious， honest and frankly horrifying at times。 Books like these are so important because they tell stories that most would prefer to sweep under the rug and say “well that would never happen here。” But it would and it absolutely does。 It is an unflinchingly honest story of what a woman from Nebraska deals with on a regular basis due to the color of her skin。 This book brings out all I dived into this book without really knowing what I was getting into and I devoured it in a day。 This book is hilarious， honest and frankly horrifying at times。 Books like these are so important because they tell stories that most would prefer to sweep under the rug and say “well that would never happen here。” But it would and it absolutely does。 It is an unflinchingly honest story of what a woman from Nebraska deals with on a regular basis due to the color of her skin。 This book brings out all of the emotions from hell yeah 🙌 to what the actual f*** 🤬。 I highly recommend to everyone。 You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey comes out on January 12th！ 。。。more
Katie （katieladyreads）
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this was laugh-out-loud funny and I enjoyed Amber & Lacey's banter。 I think this would be best enjoyed on audio but I enjoyed it nonetheless。 this was laugh-out-loud funny and I enjoyed Amber & Lacey's banter。 I think this would be best enjoyed on audio but I enjoyed it nonetheless。 。。。more
Lee
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When I was visiting Cuba several years ago， just about every conversation with a Cuban started with "It's complicated"。 That was my feeling about this book。 First of all， thanks to the publishers and Swamp Fox Bookstore for allowing me to read an ARC。 These stories were supposed to be somewhat funny， and once in a while I would smile， but I saw them as much more tragic than comedic。 That the setting was Omaha， not that far from where I live， made it much more heart breaking。 It did change my min When I was visiting Cuba several years ago， just about every conversation with a Cuban started with "It's complicated"。 That was my feeling about this book。 First of all， thanks to the publishers and Swamp Fox Bookstore for allowing me to read an ARC。 These stories were supposed to be somewhat funny， and once in a while I would smile， but I saw them as much more tragic than comedic。 That the setting was Omaha， not that far from where I live， made it much more heart breaking。 It did change my mind about micro aggressions。 I knew about these and thought they were horrible， but things could be much worse。 I know believe that these so called "micro aggressions" are so numerous that over time they are as damaging as just about anything we have seen in the recent pass。 Thanks to the authors for opening my eyes to this situation。 。。。more
Sarah （sarahandherbookshelves）
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I feel like everyone should read this。
Johnette
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I thought this book was good。 I did not think this book was funny。 The stories are told in a lighthearted， readable way but most of the time as I’m reading I’m thinking， “this is appalling “。 How can a regular person treat another regular person this way？ I don’t understand how people are still stuck in that kind of racism after all we’ve been through。 It’s just sad。
Laura
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I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway。Not gonna lie - the first page of this book had me cackling。 Not everything is laugh out loud funny （because racism isn’t really funny y’all）， but the light-tone reminds you that the authors are just trying to tell their stories。I think the two font choice was great， but I would have loved to hear stories that happened to Lacey as told by her as well， with commentary from Amber。 But either way the book is a quick read and well worth your time！ I’m glad it’s my I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway。Not gonna lie - the first page of this book had me cackling。 Not everything is laugh out loud funny （because racism isn’t really funny y’all）， but the light-tone reminds you that the authors are just trying to tell their stories。I think the two font choice was great， but I would have loved to hear stories that happened to Lacey as told by her as well， with commentary from Amber。 But either way the book is a quick read and well worth your time！ I’m glad it’s my first read of 2021。 。。。more
Katie Katieneedsabiggerbookshelf
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Ok seriously， I cannot count the amount of times during this book that I audibly said “what the actual fuck？” I hadn’t heard of either Amber or Lacey before picking this up， but I am so glad this book introduced me to them！ This is one of those books that everyone needs to read just to truly begin to understand what it is like to be Black in this country。 I was absolutely appalled at some of the things said， or done to Lacey and Amber in this book。 I really loved the back and forth between them Ok seriously， I cannot count the amount of times during this book that I audibly said “what the actual fuck？” I hadn’t heard of either Amber or Lacey before picking this up， but I am so glad this book introduced me to them！ This is one of those books that everyone needs to read just to truly begin to understand what it is like to be Black in this country。 I was absolutely appalled at some of the things said， or done to Lacey and Amber in this book。 I really loved the back and forth between them throughout the story， it gave some humor to the stories that were super infuriating。 It was mentioned “Oh Lacey is coming， she is probably going to complain about racism。” Fucking good for her。 I loved that she didn’t just sit back and take most of the insane situations she dealt with in the workplace。 Nobody should have to deal with that！ For everyone that says racism isn’t an issue anymore， one open your damn eyes， but also please read this book！ 。。。more
Crystal
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I do not want to say that a book about racism is GREAT but。。。 maybe I'll just say that it's essential reading （really a "what not to do"） for white people in the United States （and probably elsewhere）。 Growing up in Omaha， Nebraska， Lacey has a lot of stories about racism。 Subtle， overt， humourous， hurtful， scary， this book covers it all with stories about Lacey's actual life interspersed with a few stories or comments from Amber。 I had to stop a few times because some of the stories are pretty I do not want to say that a book about racism is GREAT but。。。 maybe I'll just say that it's essential reading （really a "what not to do"） for white people in the United States （and probably elsewhere）。 Growing up in Omaha， Nebraska， Lacey has a lot of stories about racism。 Subtle， overt， humourous， hurtful， scary， this book covers it all with stories about Lacey's actual life interspersed with a few stories or comments from Amber。 I had to stop a few times because some of the stories are pretty intense， but that just goes to show that I have the privilege to read this， step away， and not live it every day。 I cannot say enough good things about this， and hope to buy a few copies for family and friends。 5/5 Stars！Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Melissa
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The minute I saw Amber Ruffin had a book， I knew I needed it。 The first time I ever saw her was on Seth Meyers and I became an instant fan listening to her upsetting， absurd， and hilarious story。I loved this book and totally agree with Busy Phillips。 “You will laugh， you will be enraged， and if you are a white person， you will understand more than you did before about the truth of being Black in America。” In short， this collection of stories is a must read。I received an advanced copy in exchange The minute I saw Amber Ruffin had a book， I knew I needed it。 The first time I ever saw her was on Seth Meyers and I became an instant fan listening to her upsetting， absurd， and hilarious story。I loved this book and totally agree with Busy Phillips。 “You will laugh， you will be enraged， and if you are a white person， you will understand more than you did before about the truth of being Black in America。” In short， this collection of stories is a must read。I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review。 。。。more
Kalyn Bridgewater
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Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for an early reading copy of this book！It would be much nicer to pretend that stories like those in the book do not happen。 It would be much more enjoyable to think that white people are not this ridiculous， but we are。 The authors present the tales of the variety of ways they have experienced racism in a humorous and enlightening way。 It is for the benefit of those who really believe that things like this do not happen that both women relive these awful exp Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for an early reading copy of this book！It would be much nicer to pretend that stories like those in the book do not happen。 It would be much more enjoyable to think that white people are not this ridiculous， but we are。 The authors present the tales of the variety of ways they have experienced racism in a humorous and enlightening way。 It is for the benefit of those who really believe that things like this do not happen that both women relive these awful experiences。 。。。more
Jenn
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