Community & Culture
![Amber Ruffin - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B08TBN31XN.jpg)
You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism
*A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND 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.
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.
Editorial Reviews
"The book is a portrait of one person's struggle to maintain dignity, strength and self-respect when faced with injustices small and large-all told with Ruffin's irreverent, sardonic style."―People
"This timely and timeless book is hilarious, insightful, aggravating and comforting in equal measure."―Salon
"I dare you to read this hilarious and eye-opening book and not become obsessed with Amber Ruffin."―Mindy Kaling
"If you laugh half as hard as I did at the FIRST story in this book, let alone the rest of the book, you will have gotten your money's worth. The stories made me laugh and they made me sad. I know I'm not the only one to experience these kinds of moments but it helps to know that someone else-poor little Black Lacey taking on the lion's share of Nebraska's white ignorance all by her lonesome- experiences it too. From the mental gymnastics needed to call a black store dirty then drive out of state in order to avoid said dirt only to wind up shopping in a sty operating in a white neighborhood to having the gall to try and holluh at black women on a dating app when your profile pics have the confederate flag in them, Amber & Lacey point out how white folks are apparently doing the most in them parts."―Retta, comedian andactress (Parks & Recreation, Good Girls)
"The message of this book is for ALL of us and no matter why YOU'RE here -- perhaps you're a fan of Amber Ruffin's comedy, or a Seth Meyers' fan, or a personal friend of Lacey's, or maybe you're just a person browsing for a book that will help you understand the Black experience in America and the other ones seem too much like school -- I urge you to BUY THIS BOOK. The stories are delivered with the humor and horror they deserve. 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 -- even if you thought you understood a lot already because you read the hard school books."―Busy Philipps, author, actor,white lady
"Amber and Lacey have the gift of making you comfortable enough to laugh at events that will also make you cringe. This book is an opportunity for black people to know you're not alone in how you've experienced the world. And for everyone this book is a chance to see a layer of this world that you might have been blind to. You'll leave both with a laugh and a little more knowledge."―Roy Wood, Jr., correspondent, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
"Both maddening and funny, an eye-opening look at how its daily targets cope with racism."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A must-read that will have Black women feeling seen and heard, and will allow others to bette...
"This timely and timeless book is hilarious, insightful, aggravating and comforting in equal measure."―Salon
"I dare you to read this hilarious and eye-opening book and not become obsessed with Amber Ruffin."―Mindy Kaling
"If you laugh half as hard as I did at the FIRST story in this book, let alone the rest of the book, you will have gotten your money's worth. The stories made me laugh and they made me sad. I know I'm not the only one to experience these kinds of moments but it helps to know that someone else-poor little Black Lacey taking on the lion's share of Nebraska's white ignorance all by her lonesome- experiences it too. From the mental gymnastics needed to call a black store dirty then drive out of state in order to avoid said dirt only to wind up shopping in a sty operating in a white neighborhood to having the gall to try and holluh at black women on a dating app when your profile pics have the confederate flag in them, Amber & Lacey point out how white folks are apparently doing the most in them parts."―Retta, comedian andactress (Parks & Recreation, Good Girls)
"The message of this book is for ALL of us and no matter why YOU'RE here -- perhaps you're a fan of Amber Ruffin's comedy, or a Seth Meyers' fan, or a personal friend of Lacey's, or maybe you're just a person browsing for a book that will help you understand the Black experience in America and the other ones seem too much like school -- I urge you to BUY THIS BOOK. The stories are delivered with the humor and horror they deserve. 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 -- even if you thought you understood a lot already because you read the hard school books."―Busy Philipps, author, actor,white lady
"Amber and Lacey have the gift of making you comfortable enough to laugh at events that will also make you cringe. This book is an opportunity for black people to know you're not alone in how you've experienced the world. And for everyone this book is a chance to see a layer of this world that you might have been blind to. You'll leave both with a laugh and a little more knowledge."―Roy Wood, Jr., correspondent, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
"Both maddening and funny, an eye-opening look at how its daily targets cope with racism."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A must-read that will have Black women feeling seen and heard, and will allow others to bette...
Readers Top Reviews
ReneaAl P.Ivey C.Cla
First, the way it’s written hilarious! Second, none of these stories should be true...but they are.
Steven Gibbs
I read this book in two sittings, with my husband across the room being sporadically startled by my laughter or gasps of disbelief. I am a life long Omahan, but white, so this was news to me, yet uncomfortably familiar. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversational tone of the writing, and the honesty. Us white folks need to know this stuff. Amber and Lacey, this white lady will try to do better.
Leona
This is a Must Read!!! Ruffin and Lamar transform ubiquitous Microaggressions that most African Americans experience each and everyday into the most humorous anecdotes interwoven with a powerful social commentary. Thanks, Amber and Lacey for writing this book, because laughter is the best medicine.
lisal
Hey! I love Amber and I think she's hysterical so this book was going to be a favorite. I laughed my butt off so many times. My favorite story was Lacey at the makeup counter, and that guy's reactions. Now I love Lacey too. It's not fun hearing about racism, hate, ignorance, just plain meanness; these stories are said with silliness and fun so it makes it a bit easier to hear. I encourage white people to read about everyday racism that poc have to endure ALL. THE. TIME.
Elizabeth D. Dew
This book is very funny, and I loved it. I am white (I would even say very white) and I read it in all the way through in one sitting and laughed. It also made me sad and angry. I hope this book helps. I always think that people learn more when the material is presented in a funny way. It's one thing to be a white person and be kind of aware that this sort of thing is going on in our country and hear the occasional clunker ourselves, but its another thing entirely to have a first-hand account of a whole book full of the messed-up racist things that have happened to one harmless-looking Black lady. That is what makes this book valuable. (I also learned something from this book, which is why I capitalized Black but not white.)
