Review by Booklist Review
Standup comedian and cohost of The Real, Love (Love Him or Leave Him but Don't Get Stuck with the Tab, 2014) serves up a light, funny memoir about growing up in the projects of Detroit and finding success first as an engineer and later as a comic. Growing up "ketchup-sandwich-for-dinner poor," Love managed to avoid the many pitfalls facing her via her talents for entrepreneurship (she ran a grocery delivery business as a child) and comedy--winning a school talent show was a huge turning point. Throughout the book, Love maintains her sense of humor and can-do spirit: living in her car after her mother kicks her out she asks, "How am I ever going to meet Tito Jackson living like this?" She also offers up advice based on her experiences, often in the form of end-of-chapter lists. While not necessarily a deep dive or a spiritual or emotional journey, this is a fun and inspiring read that will please Love's fans and readers who loved Tiffany Haddish's memoir, The Last Black Unicorn (2017).Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Comedian and The Real talk show cohost Love (Love Him or Leave Him, but Don't Get Stuck with the Tab) delivers an upbeat memoir about how she overcame poverty and built a career in entertainment. Love grew up living in public housing in Detroit, Mich., in the 1970s and '80s and writes powerfully of getting kicked out of the house at 17 by her mother, who preferred her boyfriend to her daughter; sleeping in her car while working an assembly line job at General Motors; getting a scholarship to study engineering; and taking a job at Xerox while nurturing her dream of becoming a stand-up comic. A charming narrator, Love amusingly discusses living in Compton, Calif., with a former boyfriend and his mother, who wanted to turn her into a "black Stepford wife"; struggling with her weight; hustling for years to get low-paying stand up gigs (at venues including the back room of Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles) before landing a job on The Talk in 2013; and falling in love in her late 40s with a white guy. Throughout, she offers such useful advice as "say yes to opportunities that replenish your spirit as much as your wallet." Love's moving memoir will resonate with readers, especially women, in need of personal and professional motivation. (June)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
