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Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'
Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
52 reviews
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
chaotic_tumbleweed's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
I thought it was a good book. Books are a different medium than stand up and there were times where Ali struggled with the different medium. It was an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, and Racism
vi0letskies's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage
sammalamma's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
mybluebookshelf's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
Dear Girls is a memoir by Asian-American comedian Ali Wong, ostensibly written as a series of letters for her daughters to read when they're older. I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Wong herself.
The stories Wong told were entertaining and I found the inside look into standup comedy to be interesting. Wong clearly feels passionately about what makes a good comic and how to become one. I also enjoyed the essays about motherhood and pregnancy, which were unexpectedly honest and tender.
However, overall I found her writing to be overly crass and unnecessarily vulgar. Lots of stories about sex and genitalia, both hers and other people's. Also, I frequently found her tone off-putting, such as when she criticizes the "woke echo chamber" in comedy and then also complains about sexism and racism. Like, yes, being a woman in comedy must be tough, but you spent several pages insulting the girlfriends of male comedians. In the end, I just didn't feel like this was a book that really taught me anything big or small, or showed me another perspective. It was entertaining, but that's it.
Lastly, her (ex-)husband's chapter at the end was so self-aggrandizing it made me sick. He just went on and on about how he found meaning and self-actualization in literally everything. That man could get pooped on by a pigeon and write an essay about how it changed his life. 0/10 stars for him.
The stories Wong told were entertaining and I found the inside look into standup comedy to be interesting. Wong clearly feels passionately about what makes a good comic and how to become one. I also enjoyed the essays about motherhood and pregnancy, which were unexpectedly honest and tender.
However, overall I found her writing to be overly crass and unnecessarily vulgar. Lots of stories about sex and genitalia, both hers and other people's. Also, I frequently found her tone off-putting, such as when she criticizes the "woke echo chamber" in comedy and then also complains about sexism and racism. Like, yes, being a woman in comedy must be tough, but you spent several pages insulting the girlfriends of male comedians. In the end, I just didn't feel like this was a book that really taught me anything big or small, or showed me another perspective. It was entertaining, but that's it.
Lastly, her (ex-)husband's chapter at the end was so self-aggrandizing it made me sick. He just went on and on about how he found meaning and self-actualization in literally everything. That man could get pooped on by a pigeon and write an essay about how it changed his life. 0/10 stars for him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
greenek3's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Racial slurs
dmlb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
3.5
Really enjoyed the audiobook as someone who hasn't seen any of Ali Wong's standup. I don't think I would've enjoyed this as much if I read the physical book. It was pretty funny and heartfelt in many parts of the book and went by quickly, but some of it felt off for me. I think part of the reason is because I don't like the word "pussy" and she uses it a lot. If you aren't into raunchy comedy at all, I'd say skip this. Another part that could be the reason it didn't work for me as much is when she is talking about being Asian it always comes off as very east Asian-centric, and it always makes me feel like if you arent that kind of Asian then you aren't Asian. Even tho she is Chinese Vietnamese and talks about her time in Vietnam, it was still super east Asian-centric. When discussing choosing Asian restaurants, she really only mentioned east Asian cuisine. Maybe this is just telling me I should stop looking for wider/inclusive Asian rep from east Asians.
Not to say the book is bad by any means, I overall did enjoy listening to the audio since she delivers it in such an engaging and entertaining way. It def isn't the worst non-fiction I've read, but it's not my fave either. It's a good, quick read if you are looking to fill a little bit of time.
Not to say the book is bad by any means, I overall did enjoy listening to the audio since she delivers it in such an engaging and entertaining way. It def isn't the worst non-fiction I've read, but it's not my fave either. It's a good, quick read if you are looking to fill a little bit of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
1oddkatreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Miscarriage
miacorkum's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Death of parent and Miscarriage