Scan barcode
stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this on audio (read by the author herself) and had to be careful not to listen in public places, as many parts were snort-out-loud funny. Spot-on observations about pregnancy, labor, parenthood, marriage. A bit racy which was uncomfortable in spots, but then again, this is the comic that became famous for mooning her audiences! Loved "getting to know" the genius behind Always Be My Maybe. The afterword, read by her husband, was also incredibly sweet.
amarettto's review against another edition
2.0
Ali Wong's humor just isn't my cup of tea. Clearly she is extremely successful, and a role-model in that she represents the Asian community in a space where there really isn't a whole lot of it. That's admirable, but not enough for me to support her unconditionally. Ultimately she is just a bit too foul-mouthed for my comfort, and downright kind of crass. I winced twice or thrice through the book when I remembered that it was actually "letters to [her] daughters". I would be mortified in their place to hear stories like that out of a parent's mouth.
I can see someone appreciating this book if they wildly appreciate her stand up specials/clips etc. But it's not for me, and not a book I recommend since, to me, there's really very little to gain from it, knowledge, or enjoyment-wise.
I can see someone appreciating this book if they wildly appreciate her stand up specials/clips etc. But it's not for me, and not a book I recommend since, to me, there's really very little to gain from it, knowledge, or enjoyment-wise.
anjalisudarsan's review against another edition
3.0
Ali definitely was uninhibited and shares everything with absolutely no filter in this book. It had her signature sense of humour which had my eyes widen a few times, but I think I prefer her stand-ups better. I mean, this is a woman that has mooned her audience. There are a ton of TMIs shared - nailing the 'intimate tales' part of the title. Like a LOT of mentions of poop and post-pregnancy body struggles (the realities of it like incontinence and breastfeeding pains). I don't think there was any advice for me as such - it was just her story to her daughters.
I did like the letter from her husband in the end. Knowing that today, they're divorced, I felt a bit heartbroken thinking of how hard a marriage would be when gender roles are swapped. Although, in theory, it should be easy to be a stay-at-home dad in 2022 and let the woman be the brain winner, putting this into practice can be highly challenging. Especially from an Asian perspective, where men are still the providers. This, I think, was something I could ponder about.
I did like the letter from her husband in the end. Knowing that today, they're divorced, I felt a bit heartbroken thinking of how hard a marriage would be when gender roles are swapped. Although, in theory, it should be easy to be a stay-at-home dad in 2022 and let the woman be the brain winner, putting this into practice can be highly challenging. Especially from an Asian perspective, where men are still the providers. This, I think, was something I could ponder about.
cyamate's review against another edition
2.0
I love Ali Wong, I think she's hilarious. But this book didn't work for me as much as I thought it would. I felt it was too judgmental, and self-centered (I'm aware this is a memoir, but she was trying too hard to show how cool and free spirited she is...).
I still love her.
I still love her.
jjthejets's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
crybabybea's review against another edition
3.75
I went into this knowing nothing about Ali Wong and also knowing nothing about stand-up comedy, so I wasn't exactly the target audience for this memoir, but I still surprisingly had a fun time and enjoyed listening to it.
I'm not a super big fan of raunchy/dirty comedy, but I found Ali Wong's approach kind of endearing and wholesome. She makes herself the butt of jokes before anyone else can, and it makes her come across as very open-minded and shame-free. I think her comedic approach really worked well for a memoir written as a letter to her daughters. As terrifying as it would be to read about your mom's sexcapades and fecal matter, there were a lot of truly heartfelt moments that broke up the overwhelming amount of poop jokes (seriously, there's lots of poop). But the whole thing was just filled with a tone of passion and genuine love and I found it moving despite the over-the-top comedy.
She briefly touched on some more political topics, like how she defines her identity as an Asian-American woman in a male-dominated career field, but it wasn't the main focus and I enjoyed that each absolutely unhinged story circled back around to a word of advice for her girls.
I found her narration in the audiobook to be super entertaining too and made it easy to keep listening.
I'm not a super big fan of raunchy/dirty comedy, but I found Ali Wong's approach kind of endearing and wholesome. She makes herself the butt of jokes before anyone else can, and it makes her come across as very open-minded and shame-free. I think her comedic approach really worked well for a memoir written as a letter to her daughters. As terrifying as it would be to read about your mom's sexcapades and fecal matter, there were a lot of truly heartfelt moments that broke up the overwhelming amount of poop jokes (seriously, there's lots of poop). But the whole thing was just filled with a tone of passion and genuine love and I found it moving despite the over-the-top comedy.
She briefly touched on some more political topics, like how she defines her identity as an Asian-American woman in a male-dominated career field, but it wasn't the main focus and I enjoyed that each absolutely unhinged story circled back around to a word of advice for her girls.
I found her narration in the audiobook to be super entertaining too and made it easy to keep listening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Excrement, Miscarriage, and Vomit
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Cancer and Alcohol
ejhurl22's review against another edition
5.0
Ali Wong is by far one of the funniest comedians ever and I honestly have never laughed so loud in my life reading a book! I wanna be best friends with Ali now ! So that’s my new life’s mission
holly_lockhead's review against another edition
1.0
If I am being honest I should have expected this. I genuinely enjoy Ali’s stand up, but need to be in the right mood for raunchy (objectively she is the only raunchy comedian I enjoy) and her book was alot more of it. If you are a fan of hers I would recommend this book via audiobook, but if you don’t already love her then this will fall flat. I appreciate that you can tell she wrote it (clearly no ghost writer) but that also means… it’s generally bad. Comedy doesn’t always translate to the page and that ok. Basically, the audiobook got me through a long drive but didn’t make traffic enjoyable.