Living My Best Life, Hun

June 15, 2023
A Black comedian describes the racism that stymied her career in the U.K. as well as the perseverance that led to her success in the U.S. Growing up in London and Brighton, Hughes had one dream: to be on TV. To that end, at a young age, she took on jobs presenting for Babestation, which was "basically a live porn channel." Then she found work presenting for two different children's TV stations as well as a stint on a reality show called Bad Bridesmaid. During this time, she was also writing and pitching sitcoms, eight of which were rejected in the U.K. over a six-year period, something Hughes attributes to regressive racial attitudes. "The UK likes to pretend it doesn't see us," writes Hughes. "It's hard if you're Black, it's harder if you're a Black woman, and it's even harder if you're a Black woman in comedy....The British entertainment industry all too often seems to chew up and spit out talented Black women, and I refused to let them do it to me." Taking a leap of faith, Hughes signed with an American talent agency and soon began taking meetings in Los Angeles. Those meetings led to Kevin Hart's producing the author's Netflix special, To Catch a D*ck, which she originally developed for the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, and a six-figure deal developing a TV show with Larry Wilmore. Throughout the text, Hughes moves seamlessly between humorous self-deprecation and frank social analysis. Despite her overreliance on exclamatory sentences, the author's playful take on serious issues is irreverently charming, and the book will be especially appealing to Black women who have been gaslighted about the issues they've experienced in their own careers. Emboldened by the author's confidence, many readers will be able to put these insecurities to rest. A delightfully layered memoir about race, gender, and comedy.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2023
Hughes, renowned for her exceptional skills in stand-up comedy, acting, and hosting The Netflix Afterparty, has a fascinating and uplifting story to tell as she raises the curtain on her own life, from childhood forward, while also looking beyond her personal experiences to offer a brilliant, witty, and revealing analysis of the complexities of being Black and British. Hughes explores the challenges of establishing and embracing one's Black identity, particularly in the face of societal expectations that often promote constricting and oversimplified stereotypes. Drawing on her own resilience and determination when facing difficult challenges, even as she confesses to weeping and being discouraged, she offers valuable insights into how to overcome self-loathing and embrace self-love, look to the future, and persevere through adversity. At every turn, Hughes is as bold, hilarious, confiding, teasing, and provocative on the page as she is before the camera. Hughes' outspoken, saucy, and elevating success story will motivate readers with candor, laughter, and joy as she offers invaluable lessons on how to appreciate life, pursue one's dreams, and remain hopeful.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 1, 2023

By dedicating this memoir to her 14-year-old self, British comedian Hughes immediately suggests that she's written the story she needed to hear as an adolescent. This book will also likely resonate with others navigating the complexities of life, especially as intersectionality multiplies barriers and minimizes individuals' sense of belonging. There's humor, resiliency, tears, and much more, all written in the powerful voice that readers will recognize from Hughes's BBC comedies and 2020 Netflix special. She's structured her narrative in some ways like a stand-up routine, but there's also an interwoven powerful literary rhetoric and a style that captures a conversational tone while drawing attention to bigger sociocultural issues. After she describes writing herself into comedies, readers may never watch reruns of Frasier or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air without imagining how much better the shows would be with Hughes in them. VERDICT Recommended for everyone who's interested in pop-cultural explorations of race, gender, and ethnicity. Fans of Hughes's comedy and readers who've enjoyed memoirs such as Tina Fey's Bossypants, Tiffany Haddish's The Last Black Unicorn, and Ali Wong's Dear Girls will also love this book.--Emily Bowles

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