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Tiffany Haddish is back with her highly anticipated new essay collection, I Curse You With Joy It’s been a minute since readers last sat down with Tiffany Haddish. Since The Last Black Unicorn, Haddish has catapulted to A-List fame as the breakout star of Girls Trip. She’s walked the Oscars red carpet, released a hit stand-up special with Netflix, and made history as the first black female comedian to host Saturday Night Live and Shark Week. But it hasn’t been all VIP parties and free diving with apex predators. In these humorous and heartfelt essays, Tiffany gets real about the highs and lows of life. Believe it or not, there was a time when Tiffany didn’t totally know who Tiffany was. Before she found her groove, she was on stage dressed like her snobby airline coworkers telling halfhearted dick jokes. She tanked. It took a fake penis, some help from friends, and a little encouragement from Bob Saget, but eventually Tiffany figured out Tiffany. I Curse You With Joy celebrates all the lessons she learned along the way—the joy and the pain. Tiffany reckons with the legacy of her childhood trauma, the challenges of being a black woman in the entertainment industry, and her bittersweet reunion with her estranged father after nearly twenty years apart. And don’t worry, she’s got plenty of advice to share, too. I Curse You With Joy is Tiffany Haddish unfiltered. (We know what you’re thinking...how much more unfiltered can she get?) These essays lay it all bare, bringing readers into Tiffany’s inner circle where joy, honesty, humor, and heart are the order of the day.
Publication Year: 2024
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Enjoyable As someone who mostly reads fiction, I occasionally reach for a memoir when I need a break. This audiobook worked well as a palate cleanser—entertaining enough to hold my attention, especially since I had some time to spare. That said, I preferred The Last Black Unicorn by far. I Curse You With Joy picks up where The Last Black Unicorn left off. It’s structured as a series of short stories, but this time around, they didn’t land as well. The content leans heavily into sex—almost to the point of monotony. I don’t mind mature themes, but when every other story circles back to body parts or sexual encounters, it starts to feel repetitive. Still, I respect that Tiffany Haddish tells her story on her own terms. Her delivery is raw, unfiltered, and conversational, and she does offer some genuinely insightful moments. The problem is, those moments often get buried under crass jokes or overused punchlines. The balance between humor and heart just isn't quite there. That said, the final chapters are the strongest. My favorite pieces—“I See You South Central,” “Tea with an OG,” and “Blessings”—show Haddish at her most reflective. She opens up about real pain: George Floyd, the Capitol riots, and shaving her head. One moment that stood out to me was her openness about suffering multiple miscarriages. That’s something many women quietly carry without ever talking about. Hearing someone like Tiffany speak on it openly, without shame, is important. It helps normalize a painful experience that’s often hidden, and it can make a difference for mothers who feel isolated or guilty. The fact that she brings it up in such a matter-of-fact, conversational way might be exactly what someone needs to hear. Overall, I don’t regret listening to it. Haddish’s honesty is bold and unapologetic—and that alone makes the memoir worth a listen.