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Whether you know her from her movies, her TV roles, or her comedy specials (most notably while pregnant), you probably know that comic Ali Wong stands out. Not only is she not a white guy, but she’s brutally (and often graphically) honest about her life. And in Dear Girls, she takes that brutal honesty and uses it to teach her daughters about life, love, and womanhood.
Each chapter in this book is written as a letter to Wong’s young daughters. But this isn’t just a fluffy book of advice about how to find the right partner in life, how to raise children, and how to live the life you’ve always dreamed of. If you’ve seen one of Wong’s comedy specials, you know that’s not her style. Instead, she tells it like it is, covering every gory detail of her family life, her youth, her career, and how annoying it is to be asked over and over again what it’s like to be an Asian-American woman in comedy.
While writing this book, Wong clearly wasn’t planning to transition into a career as a motivational speaker. This isn’t a Rachel Hollis book. What it is, however, is unique—sometimes hilarious, sometimes shocking (admittedly, sometimes more than necessary), and always real. Wong doesn’t hold back on any of the topics in this book. She’s open and honest about life, love, and various bodily functions. The book may be addressed to her daughters, but it’s the kind of stuff that any daughter would be mortified to read—and it’s also the kind of book that you might not want to read while you’re eating lunch (trust me on this one).
At the same time, though, through the wild stories and crazy anecdotes comes the story of a woman who’s fought to get where she is. She’s paid her dues in empty clubs. She’s bombed onstage (regularly). She’s stayed in sketchy hotels around the country. She’s dealt with sexism and racism in her industry. She’s struggled to juggle marriage and motherhood and a successful career. And while she definitely doesn’t use the usual self-help language, her story can be more than just outrageous and funny; it’s sometimes surprisingly inspiring, too.
Dear Girls definitely isn’t a sweet, uplifting self-help book. It’s crude and often shocking—but it’s also a real look at the world of a wife and mother succeeding in a white male industry.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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