A review by sarahgracenyc
I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying by Youngmi Mayer

dark reflective medium-paced

3.5

Her book is brutally honest, which isn’t a bad thing, but unfortunately is sometimes repetitive to the point that I’m curious if anyone thoroughly edited it. I appreciate the lack of “wrapping it up in a bow” in her passages or pretending to have answers to age-old questions of systemic and generational trauma. I had to remind myself that I’d prefer her angry and bullying tone (at things that should be bullied!!) was what I’d prefer than someone who pretends to be objective in a memoir, but it did make for a very intense read. Though she’s a comedian, her humor is hardly ever used to dissuade the horrific details of an event. Honestly her humor is very specific and just not specific to my own, so I read it more as an informational exploration on that culture rather than be annoyed she wasn’t making me laugh.