You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey

Starred review from January 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.

Comedian Amber Ruffin ("The Amber Ruffin Show") and Lacey Lamar are sisters and co-narrators of this hilarious romp through a series of unfortunate encounters with the racially ignorant. They take turns narrating their no-holds-barred commentary on the incidents that happen to Lacey, a Black woman, in homogenous white Nebraska. Ruffin and Lamar are upbeat as they share their sharp wit, which helps to buffer the underlying racism in each account. The audiobook peels back the layers of how often and how absurdly poorly Lacey is treated, and it's both infuriating and laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes all within the same moment. Don't miss this engaging and educational listen. M.R. ? AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine