You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism

You'll Never Believe What Happened To Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism
by Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9781538719367
Publication Date: January 12, 2021
Pages: 215
Genre: Essays
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

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.

Another book I discovered by reading the Irresponsible Reader’s blog, and it sounded like something I needed to read.  I was lucky enough that my local library had this one, but I also wanted to listen to it, so I checked Orange County Library and they had the audio, so this was a co-read/listen, which worked out particularly well, as there are quite a few photographs in the hardcover edition.

This is a great book for those that feel like they need more information about modern instances of racism but don’t want to feel lectured at.  Ruffin’s goal is to keep the mood upbeat and make the reader laugh, a seemingly impossible goal in the face of these stories, but she and her sister manage it really well.  The anecdotes made this reader really, really despair for humanity, and reaffirmed my feelings that as a whole were a horribly ignorant lot.  But I also chuckled along with, and admired the hell out of, Ruffin and Lacey, because, seriously, to be able to keep your sense of humor in the midst of the shit they had to grow up with … not sure I could do it, and I use humor as a defence all. the. time.

I was also a little relived that I’ve (almost) never said anything stupid enough to end up in this book – or have ever thought of anything that came close to the crap in this book.  People are horrible.  I know I stuck my foot in it once – a horribly embarrassing moment of thoughtlessness in University, for which I instantly and desperately wished it were possible to snatch words out of the air and eat them.  I immediately apologised, but I’m betting that apology rang hollow, and after reading this, I can understand why.  I can only hope I’ve never left anyone else with anecdotes like this – and pray I never do.

The narration was done really well by both Ruffin and Lamar.  It took awhile to adjust to Ruffin’s energetic voice – because the subject matter isn’t uplifting – but once I got into the groove I was glad to have heard these personal experiences right from the source’s mouth.