The last black unicorn

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
2017.
Language
English

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn't beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money'as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman'to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend. None of that worked (and she's still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy. Tiffany can't avoid being funny'it's just who she is, whether she's plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person's mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others. By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is'humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she's ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.

More Details

Contributors
Haddish, Tiffany Narrator, Author
ISBN
9781501181832
9781501181825
9781508245513

Discover More

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors funny, and they have the genres "arts and entertainment -- comedy" and "life stories -- facing adversity -- personal transformation"; and the subjects "women comedians," "african americans," and "african american women."
These books have the appeal factors reflective and candid, and they have the genres "arts and entertainment -- comedy" and "life stories -- facing adversity -- personal transformation"; and the subjects "women comedians," "african americans," and "entertainment industry and trade."
I tried to change so you don't have to: true life lessons - Love, Loni
In both inspiring laugh-out-loud memoirs, comedians dish on their difficult childhoods, their professional successes, and how they learned to love themselves. -- Kaitlin Conner
When the choice came to laugh or cry, these African American female comedians chose to laugh about the ridiculously tough circumstances they faced growing up. Candid humor and the spirit of survival come through in both memoirs. -- Autumn Winters
These books have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genre "life stories -- facing adversity -- personal transformation"; and the subjects "african americans," "african american women," and "actors and actresses."
These books have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genres "arts and entertainment -- comedy" and "life stories -- facing adversity -- personal transformation"; and the subjects "women comedians," "actors and actresses," and "comedians."
These books have the genres "arts and entertainment -- comedy" and "life stories -- facing adversity -- personal transformation"; and the subjects "women comedians," "social classes," and "racism."
These books have the genres "arts and entertainment -- comedy" and "life stories -- arts and culture -- performing arts"; and the subjects "women comedians," "gender role," and "social classes."
Both funny, hyper-candid memoirs by notable African American actresses provide the experience of chatting openly with a trusted friend. Tiffany Haddish's stories center on struggle and hustle; Gabrielle Union has plenty to say about code-switching. -- Autumn Winters
Readers interested in comedy as a survival mechanism will appreciate both looks at comedians who survived traumatic childhoods with the help of their finely tuned senses of humor. The Last Black Unicorn is a memoir; Furious Cool, a biography. -- Autumn Winters
Energetic and funny, these are the uplifting and frank autobiographies of highly successful black woman entertainers. They detail their authors' upbringings, struggles with mental illness, Hollywood journeys, and life philosophies, which include facing life with laughter and love. -- Melissa Gray
Black women comedians recount their paths to stardom in both chatty and intimate memoirs. -- Kaitlin Conner

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
South African-born comedian Trevor Noah and American-born comedian Tiffany Haddish are each noted for their forthright autobiographical writing that strongly evokes their difficult childhoods by combining scathing humor with trenchant observations on race and class. -- Mike Nilsson
These authors' works have the subjects "actors and actresses," "entertainment industry and trade," and "celebrities."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subjects "african americans," "actors and actresses," and "african american women."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subjects "african americans," "actors and actresses," and "african american women."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subjects "african americans," "actors and actresses," and "african american women."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subjects "african americans," "actors and actresses," and "african american women."
These authors' works have the appeal factors sardonic and candid, and they have the subject "actors and actresses."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subject "actors and actresses."
These authors' works have the subjects "actors and actresses," "gender role," and "gender equity."
These authors' works have the subject "actors and actresses."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the subjects "african americans," "self-acceptance in children," and "african american families."
These authors' works have the appeal factors candid, and they have the genre "arts and entertainment"; and the subjects "actors and actresses" and "films."

Published Reviews

Library Journal Review

Comedian Haddish was not born to a life of laughs. After an accident her stepfather later confessed to staging, her mother experienced severe brain damage and wild mood swings. Placed in the foster care system as a teen, and struggling to read at a basic level in ninth grade, Haddish found that humor and jokes helped her endure. When offered a choice between the Laugh Factory comedy camp or counseling to help recover from issues within the foster system, she chose the former and found her calling. In her first book, Haddish recounts her early life straight through to her powerhouse success both on the comedy circuit and in Hollywood with the 2017 film Girls Trip. She spares nothing in this no-holds-barred account, from laughable accounts of failed pimps for boyfriends and taking Will and Jada Pinkett Smith on a swamp tour to graphic descriptions of a memorable one-weekend stand to unfiltered honesty on her struggle as a domestic abuse survivor. With an informal and conversational style, Haddish directly addresses readers, dares to be herself, and says, "You can't fake funny." VERDICT A bawdy, laugh-out-loud tell-all with a liberal dose of heart.-Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

The stand-up comedian and actress opens up about her past and the perils of being a woman in comedy.In her uncensored and often hilarious debut memoir, Haddish reveals pivotal events from her personal life that helped propel her toward the stage. "I got into the entertainment business so I could feel accepted," she writes. "And loved. And safe." After learning about the trials of her early years, readers will appreciate how trying to make a roomful of strangers laugh could prove easier than negotiating the minefield of the author's home life. Though somewhat dismissive of her uncanny ability to rise above adversity, Haddish provides a colloquially written rags-to-riches story that is both impressive and harrowing. Abandoned by her father at age 3 and forced to live with her grandmother at 8, after her mother was in a devastating car accident that caused permanent brain damage, Haddish spent years taking care of her younger siblings or being abused while in foster care. She turned to humor as a defense mechanism, getting her comedic start as a teen working as an "energy producer" at bar mitzvahs around Los Angeles. Once her grandmother learned she would no longer receive financial support for caring for her granddaughter, she turned Haddish out, causing her to become homeless at 18. At 21, the author's stepfather told her that not only was he responsible for the accident that had forever changed her mother, but that it had been meant to kill her and all her siblings so he could cash in on the life insurance. After learning this, Haddish says she started dating policemen. "It's always good to have police friends," she writes, "especially black police, because there aren't a lot of them." The author's unrelenting positivity and openness about how insecurities about her own self-worth led to poor decisions later in life offer important lessons and hope for others seemingly trapped in toxic relationships.Both entertaining and grippingly introspective, Haddish's take-no-prisoners tale is a testament to self-will and how humor can save your life. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Library Journal Reviews

Known to fans for her work on NBC's The Carmichael Show and in the feature film Girls Trip, Haddish recalls a tougher-than-tough upbringing in South Central Los Angeles, where she circulated through foster care after her mother sustained a serious brain injury and tried to cope at a nearly all-white school as a ninth grader who didn't know how to read. Now she has her first Showtime stand-up comedy special, She Ready, in the fall.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.
Powered by Content Cafe

Library Journal Reviews

Comedian Haddish was not born to a life of laughs. After an accident her stepfather later confessed to staging, her mother experienced severe brain damage and wild mood swings. Placed in the foster care system as a teen, and struggling to read at a basic level in ninth grade, Haddish found that humor and jokes helped her endure. When offered a choice between the Laugh Factory comedy camp or counseling to help recover from issues within the foster system, she chose the former and found her calling. In her first book, Haddish recounts her early life straight through to her powerhouse success both on the comedy circuit and in Hollywood with the 2017 film Girls Trip. She spares nothing in this no-holds-barred account, from laughable accounts of failed pimps for boyfriends and taking Will and Jada Pinkett Smith on a swamp tour to graphic descriptions of a memorable one-weekend stand to unfiltered honesty on her struggle as a domestic abuse survivor. With an informal and conversational style, Haddish directly addresses readers, dares to be herself, and says, "You can't fake funny." VERDICT A bawdy, laugh-out-loud tell-all with a liberal dose of heart.—Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.