This book was AMAZING. I can't recommend it enough!

Amber and Lacey have some real talk about what it's like to be a Black woman in the United States . . . but somehow make these heavy topics absolutely hilarious? Their dynamic and humor really shines through, and I had so much fun reading this, while still being thoroughly outraged by their experiences.

This book is both hilarious and terrifying. The stories are so absurd that you want them to not be true. Unfortunately, they are. This level of ignorance and prejudice is alive and well. I recommend this for anyone looking to have their eyes opened while laughing.

This memoir by two sisters of their experiences of racism touched me in way that no other book has. The big and small ways that racism affected their lives was shocking.. It is only through books like these that we see the affect of racism on everyday interactions. This is a book that I believe should be read by as many people as possible to see how Black Americans have to deal with daily racism.

QOTD: what are your favorite scents? No matter the season, I’m all about the mint! Blend mint with just about anything, and I’m in.

Happiest of pub days to @amberruffin & Lacey Lamar and their book You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism

“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.”

That pretty much sums the book up. It is laugh out loud funny, because of the sheer ridiculousness of the stories these two sisters share throughout it. As a white woman, I learned from some, was appalled at others and laughed the whole way through. The pictures of Lacey compared to the Black celebrities she’d been mistaken for were INSANE (iykyk). These stories aren’t one-offs, though, and while many of the accounts come out of the fly-over state of Nebraska where Lacey lives, others come from Amber in NYC (racism lives everywhere).

Amber is a writer/performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014 when she became the first black woman to write for a late-night network. She also hosts late-night talk show The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock. This was a fun read and I recommend it for white audiences interested in racial reconciliation, especially those that are intimidated by some of the other big titles that might seem like a heavy place to start, and for Black audiences that might take comfort in someone who gets it 🙈

Thank you @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for this e-arc!

#amberruffin #latenightwithsethmeyers #youllneverbelievewhathappenedtolacey #netgalley #advancedreaderscopy #arcreader #arcreview #bookreview #pubday #publicationday #bookbirthday #bookstagram #bookreviews #bookstagrammer #bookreviewer #bookreviewers #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookblog #bookblogger #diversebooks #diversebookshelf #booksgram #bookreader #kindlebooks #kindle #ebook #bookphotography #candlesandbooks #booksandcandles #bookpic

The perfect book for these times, "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey" effortlessly walks the line between serious and silly, showing the power of humor in the face of systemic oppression.

Lots of difficult issues and situations are handled rather hilariously by these sisters. "Awful" doesn't even begin to describe everything that happens to Lacey, so it's very impressive that her and her sister can tell these stories at all, much less with so much humor.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is an incredibly funny book but it's also an incredibly infuriating and sad one, too. It's not hard to believe that all of these stories happen, but the humorous aspect serves to underscore just how NOT funny it is.

(The audiobook is also great.)

Well. This book is a five-star winner. This should be required reading along with The Sum of Us. Just to illustrate that it's both about subtle things and also about terrible things white people do and say literally all the fucking time. We are, and I mean this, the absolute fucking worst. And by we, I mean white people. All of 'em, including me.

Funny and enjoyable to read while also addressing the serious problem of racism in our society. Looking forward to seeing this book get the credit and attention it deserves.

Amber and Lacey take racism and smother it with comedy. You’ll laugh and you’ll learn a thing or two. Highly recommend.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book was both hilarious and heartbreaking. I actually ended up listening to the audiobook version of this which I highly recommend. Lacey’s been through a lot, and as unbelievable as these stories may seem, I’m also not a woman of color so I have never been a victim to the racism that she’s experienced. It’s definitely an eye-opener. You’ll want to pass along these stories to your friends and family just as much as Amber and Lacey do to theirs.

Amber and Lacey strike a pitch perfect tone, telling these hilariously awful stories in a frank and conversational manner. It's engaging and absorbing. I'm so glad I read it.

I am a huge fan of Amber Ruffin and her newly released show on Peacock and so I was immensely pleased to receive this ARC. It is both funny and thought-provoking and an excellent read (especially during Black History Month). I hope these two continue writing!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

‘You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey’ pretty much epitomizes the saying ‘you have to laugh to keep from crying.’ The book is a series of stories told by two sisters, and focuses on the experience being Black in the city of Omaha. The stories are absolutely terrible- but somehow Amber and Lacey make them hilarious. There are racist experiences from every part of their life (and some others in their family), and they’re right- it’s hard to believe. I mean, it’s not, but it should be.

Their sisters dynamic is well translated to text, and you feel at times that you’re in the middle of a conversation with the two of them. My only problem with the book comes from just that- at times it’s so conversational as to become confusing. I had to go back and reread a couple of times to remember what the original train of thought was.

Overall, though, I recommend this book. Unfortunately, I feel like the people who most need it won’t pick it up— but maybe enough people in their lives will, and they’ll finally acknowledge that racism didn’t disappear with the election of Obama.

This book is hilarious and horrifying and... hilariously horrifying? Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar bring you right into the thick of things. The stories are hilarious but heart wrenching in how ubiquitous they are. A must read for everyone.

3.5
Amber Ruffin is hilarious. I've always enjoy watching her on Seth Meyer's show and have loved the way she brings attention to racism through her comedy, but in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, when she recalled her own personal racist experiences, I cried.

This book will horrify you and make you laugh and if you're a racist you might recognize yourself, but then again I bet if you're a racist you won't be picking this one up. That's a shame because it might open your eyes. It opened mine up and made me laugh.

The title to this book exactly explains the subject of the book. It's an easy read, in the way it's put together/written....but the subject matter is not an easy read. At the end, the author says "Please take these stories and use them." It's a very serious subject, told in as easy/honest as manner as possible. Much of it takes place around a locale (Omaha, NE) I am somewhat familiar with, so that aspect was of interest.
I received an e-ARC of the book from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley, having offered to read it & post my own fair & honest review.

Whew! Thank goodness we got a new President yesterday and America isn’t racist anymore! That was a close one there for a minute. (<<<<If you don’t understand that was a joke then this probably isn’t the book for you.) But if are still trying to become more “woke” and all of the other books that people have been sharing/shaming you to read here or on the ‘Gram are just making you want to stick you head in the oven, this might be the selection for you.

In case you aren’t aware from my oh-so-very-youthful-looking profile picture (I’m the one on the left), I am an old lady – and I work with even older old men who most definitely could have been used as like eleventy examples of things people say without even giving a fuck that they are just blatantly not okay. My company like most others also tries to tout its inclusivity and diversity while having one black person in a not bottom-of-the-barrel staff type of position and also one Pacific Islander because yay that’s <i>super</i> diverse */sarcasm*. These are the stories from a black person working in flyover country. They are cringey and some are awful, but they are delivered with humor so you don’t feel like you just took a frying pan to your face over and over again while reading them.

As I said right above this, I am old (or at least old adjacent). I cannot stay up late enough to watch Seth Meyers, but I did fall a little bit in love with Amber Ruffin during her many appearances on <i>Drunk History</I>. I mean, my girl gets L.I.T. And then Peacock became a thing so I could demand her very own show whenever I feel like it. Now I love her even more. She just spits truth. And she fucking punked her sister for their press tour for this release.

As said at the end of the book . . .

<b><i>We are not into trying to educate white America, but maybe we accidentally did. Maybe white readers learned that just because your Black friends aren’t sitting you down, going over all their trauma with you, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist! Maybe your learned that racist stuff happens all the time. Maybe you’ve become emboldened to speak up when you see someone being a racist piece of shit. Maybe you’ve realized the racist piece of shit was you!</i></b>

Or maybe you’re still waiting to “Make America Great Again” . . . .

If so, please kindly block me so I never see you again. Thanks in advance!

<i>ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!</I>

Ask any Black woman how many microaggressions she deals with daily and she’ll likely laugh at you and tell you there’s no way she could keep count because they happen so often. Is it tiring, yes. Does it make you want to pluck your eyelashes out one by one at times, yes. But occasionally you stop and think about the ridiculousness of it all and you have no other choice than to laugh.

Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar have written a book that perfectly encapsulates the world that so many of us live in. However, Lacey seems to have a microaggression magnet on her forehead. You know how some people attract crazy? Lacey attracts polite, and sometimes not so polite, racists. Living in Omaha (or anywhere in the U.S.) can’t help, but I promise the stories she tells are relatable whether you’re in the midwest or the mid-atlantic region. Whether it’s a cashier asking if the Harriet Tubman image on your checks is actually you, being the only Black person at work, being told you’re safe as a Black woman because no one kidnaps Black women or the assumption that you’re from a single parent household even though you grew up with both parents in the house - being Black in perceived white spaces can be a lot. And yet, Lacey seems to find the humor in it all.

The stories are told with enough lightheartedness that I found myself cackling, and I can appreciate this somewhat strategic move to put white readers at ease as they slowly, but surely, start to think about which of the cringeworthy and downright offensive acts they’ve committed themselves. But this book isn’t meant just for white readers who are looking to learn how to be and do better, it’s also an affirmation for Black women who’ve questioned their sanity after a day in the life where their humanity is questioned simply for existing in a world that dares them to be in its space.

3.5 stars

I don't know how to review this. I didn't know of the author, a Black female comedy writer. I picked it up because as an older white woman, I figure the more books dealing with racism I read, the more chance I will shed some of the racist ways that stick to us all in this society. I guess I was expecting humor, although looking back that seems naive.

This is a series of retold stories of the author and her sister's never-ending experiences with racism. The sisters have survived and thrived and are pretty honest in how they react to these experiences. My reaction was embarrassment, anger and shame that people can be so ignorant and so wrong-headed. But the litany of wrongs is entirely too believable and real. Hats off to the authors for dealing with all this, particularly the daily workplace stuff, and being able to see any humor at all. And thank you for laying it out for the rest of us to see, even if it makes us all squirm.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.