You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about… (udgave 2021)

Occasionally hilarious but mostly horrifying stories about everyday racism in Nebraska and my state of Iowa.

Written in a chatty tone that flits from anecdote to anecdote -- getting a little too random sometimes -- I believe I would have enjoyed this more in an audio or video format. The best moments are when the sisters engage in direct dialogue, though those exchanges are actually a bit rare as 90 percent of the book is Amber Ruffin riffing solo in her Helvetica font, telling Lacey's twisted tales for her.

Still, it's a worthwhile look at how much Black Americans have to endure from the hateful, stupid, and even well-intentioned White people around them. And I am certainly not excluding myself: I still have a lot of work to do and this is another reminder to keep at it. ( )

This book was as funny as it was horrifying. It's hard to believe that things like this happen to Black people in their everyday lives. But that's the point. It is hard to believe and it is happening. ( )

Years ago I tried to tell my book club of a couple of articles I'd read that documented poor pregnancy outcomes in Black women compared to White women regardless of education or financial status. They thought I was nuts or at least exaggerating. Amber Ruffin and Lacey explain the phenomenon perfectly even though there's nothing about pregnancy in the book. There's this middle-class family of well-educated nerds, they love art and literature and math. They love sitting at the front of the class so the teacher can see what smarties they are. Yet throughout their lives, wherever they go (J. C. Pennys is prominent) they're assumed to be poor, ignorant, thieving prostitutes. As Amber says, "What?" If one of the things that happened to them happened to me I would be in a complete tizzy, yet they have to endure mean racist comments, off-hand racist comments, or "well meaning" racist comments continually. Amazingly, they have kept their sense of humor, but such attacks have to keep a body continually stressed, continually ready for fight or flight. Human bodies are not supposed to function under such assault. And Amber laughs through the whole book, and little Lacey is a bodybuilder. The combination of the horrid subject matter with Amber's comedic presentation is magical. ( )

This was a big disappointment. It was a too glib treatment of a very serious problem. It offered no real solutions or hope of change. And really wasn't all that funny. ( )

God damn this is a tough listen, and it makes me horrified to know that white people are this racist. Amber Ruffin is a comedian, so she keeps up this very upbeat voice acting while telling these stories about her sister Lacey (& some of hers too); it made me keep uttering these laughing yelps of horror throughout. I want every white person to read/listen to this and hopefully come to some sort of reckoning with themselves. It’s helping me in calling out other white people and paying attention in my life too. ( )