Dear Girls by Ali Wong
Published by Random House Audio on October 2019Genres: Non-Fiction
Pages: 224
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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Ali Wong's heartfelt and hilarious letters to her daughters (the two she put to work while they were still in utero), covering everything they need to know in life, like the unpleasant details of dating, how to be a working mom in a male-dominated profession, and how she trapped their dad.
In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so heavily that she became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women, and why you never see new mom comics on stage but you sure see plenty of new dads.
The sharp insights and humor are even more personal in this completely original collection. She shares the wisdom she's learned from a life in comedy and reveals stories from her life off stage, including the brutal singles life in New York (i.e. the inevitable confrontation with erectile dysfunction), reconnecting with her roots (and drinking snake blood) in Vietnam, tales of being a wild child growing up in San Francisco, and parenting war stories. Though addressed to her daughters, Ali Wong's letters are absurdly funny, surprisingly moving, and enlightening (and disgusting) for all.
Ali Wong can seriously do no wrong.
If you haven’t watched her two Netflix comedy specials, then I’m sorry you’ve been living under a rock. Now go watch them both and come back. Done? Good. Let’s continue.
The best part about the book is I can hear her voice in my head, reading this to me. Seriously. Her voice in my head. Now some might think this might be creepy but I’m going to assure you that it’s brilliant. Her hilarious and heartwarming stories show off her depth and comedy as an artist. She will be giving you her best line in one sentence and the next will make you want to hug someone. I love her chapters on pregnancy, because – same girl. What no one wants to talk about or tell you and she just DOES IT.
Yes, Ali, I have suffered enough.
And she doesn’t stop there. She talks about being a stand up comic, about her family and being a student and living abroad. By the time you’re done, you feel like you’ve just read some seriously raw diary entries and you equally want to be her best friend and send her to a therapist.
That’s what makes Ali Wong so special. Her comedy is not abstract and general. Her comedy is raw and unfiltered personal dilemmas, intimate knowledge and realizations that only someone who has been through and lived and come out the other side can comment on.
I love love love this book. There is so much honesty and humor and realness. I laughed out loud, sitting alone at lunch, looking like a maniac. And I didn’t for once feel sorry about it.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
