The Last Black Unicorn

I've been wanting to read this book ever since I saw Haddish's interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. This woman is HILARIOUS. Somehow I didn't realize she was in the movie Girls Night until I read about it in her book - I really do need to see that movie. That aside, this book was pretty great. It's written in her speaking style, so it's not technically correct grammar, but it SOUNDS right, which is more important in a memoir, in my opinion. It's supposed to show the author's personality, and this does.

I don't know that I'd put this on quite the same level as Trevor Noah's Born A Crime, or Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy, but it's not far behind them. Haddish talks about her childhood in the foster system and then raised by her grandmother, her string of no-good boyfriends, and her abusive marriage. She's had a rough life, but somehow she's come out of it with a gift for comedy and a grounded personality.

Her swamp tour with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith is one of the most hilarious stories in the book, and one of the few that is purely funny. Most of them are underscored with a serious issue that make me feel a little bad for laughing at them, but Haddish laughs at them, so how can you not? It's an interesting conflict that leaves me with slightly mixed feelings about the book.

It's a pretty quick, easy, fun read, and if you like Tiffany Haddish, it definitely shows what she's gone through to get where she is now.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

3.5 She's hilarious and a fantastic comedian, but her bits don't translate into a cohesive story or narrative arc. Recommend the audio if you're reading because she narrates it herself and adds a few extra-book items. The first chapter was a bit hard to listen to because she's all over the place, but she finds the sweet spot after that. Her stories are funny and absolutely brutal and highlight her strength as a person and the work she's put into her career. Need to get copies for the library as we'll definitely have lots of readers for this!

After hearing Tiffany on Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, I knew I had to check out her book. That same matter-of-fact honest comedy comes through in her writing and her story. I laughed out loud more than once while listening to her sometimes awkward (and sometimes downright sad) stories told to humor.

What Can I say, Haddish said it all.
The narration of this book is so funny, she went through a lot of stuff but her attitude towards everything is so inspiring. Even though she made some morally inadequate decisions but she owned it all.
the only complaint I have is that she introduced a lot of characters by their looks even is opposed to the idea of judging people by their looks.

Tiffany, oh Tiffany. She's certainly a character. Not going to lie I skipped the chapter where she talked about her coworker Roscoe, I couldn't listen to her mock this man. What else can I say? Her life's been eventful and I can't say I found much humor in most of it. Not sure this worked as a comedy, it was more of a tragedy. If I think about it, I don't really find her that funny, in general, probably because she's too blunt and quite offensive sometimes. But then again, I don't find most comedians funny, the only notable exception being Trevor Noah and recently this guy Dragos I found on Instagram. Still, there's something endearing about her, I can't dislike her no matter how crude she may be at times.

This is not a work of literary genius and I love it all the more for that; basically, Tiffany decided that being illiterate until high school is no reason to think she couldn't write her own autobiography and BAM! just did it. Her tone doesn't always translate to the page so this is definitely best as an audiobook for maximum amusement.

Irrelevant side note: Peter Beagle's classic The Last Unicorn is in no way referenced by this book.

“You know there's trouble, when a black woman starts repeating her words. You better clean up yo act then!”

Now, let me be frank, I loved this woman way before I heard her audio book. She is effortlessly funny, and has an aura which just makes you want to be her friend.
Everybody has their demons, but most of them are afraid to talk about them, but not Tiffany! She went all out in this one, about how she grew up in foster care, abusive relationships and how comedy kept her positive through all the pain.
Funny as hell, with some moments which could make you cry.
Tiffany, take a bow.

Laugh until you cry!


I picked this up because the cover was so interesting. When I realized it was a memoir of Tiffany Haddish I didn't know much about her but I love celebrity memoirs so I had to give it a chance. I am like many reviewers have a girl crush on her. Tiffany Haddish is the first celebrity memoirs where I feel like the memoir came early in her career not after she has established herself fully. But she is READY and READY NOW. I think it made me want to watch her movies even more. As I read this memoir, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Tiffany is krazy with a “K.” The way the book is written it's definitely ADHD status (no pun attended), but it jumps around a lot, but it's PERFECT! Why? Because it works! It fits Tiffany's personality! If it were written any other way it would not come across as authentic. I can tell Tiffany meant for it to be funny, but at other times, some things that occurred in her life was no laughing matter. For instance, having an absentee father and a mother with a mental illness is a lonely world for a girl to grow up in. In addition to the emotional and mental neglect was the repeated physical abuse she endured by her mother and husband, and even from the kids in foster homes.
Still, Tiffany is a survivor in every way, with a determination not to ever give up! She fights her way through ridicule, abuse, and a male-dominating industry, in order to make her way to the top. She's a raw talent whose honesty is identifiable by the average person. In life, we can be a “Betty Downer” or a “Winnie Woe is Me” or we can learn from our experiences and use them as a way to learn and heal as Tiffany did. Some of us learn by vicariously living through others and some of us learn from hands-on experience, Tiffany is the latter. She's learning and she is growing from her experiences.

I enjoyed the book for the laughter and fun, but most of all for its honesty and the way it was written like a conversation between two girlfriends. I have suggested it to at least 10 people and it is now officially my favorite book of 2019 so far. I think Kevin Hart's memoir will be on my list for at some point in 2019.

After hearing Tiffany on Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, I knew I had to check out her book. That same matter-of-fact honest comedy comes through in her writing and her story. I laughed out loud more than once while listening to her sometimes awkward (and sometimes downright sad) stories told to humor.