Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, and Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong

14 reviews

crybabybea's review

3.75

I went into this knowing nothing about Ali Wong and also knowing nothing about stand-up comedy, so I wasn't exactly the target audience for this memoir, but I still surprisingly had a fun time and enjoyed listening to it. 

I'm not a super big fan of raunchy/dirty comedy, but I found Ali Wong's approach kind of endearing and wholesome. She makes herself the butt of jokes before anyone else can, and it makes her come across as very open-minded and shame-free. I think her comedic approach really worked well for a memoir written as a letter to her daughters. As terrifying as it would be to read about your mom's sexcapades and fecal matter, there were a lot of truly heartfelt moments that broke up the overwhelming amount of poop jokes (seriously, there's lots of poop). But the whole thing was just filled with a tone of passion and genuine love and I found it moving despite the over-the-top comedy. 

She briefly touched on some more political topics, like how she defines her identity as an Asian-American woman in a male-dominated career field, but it wasn't the main focus and I enjoyed that each absolutely unhinged story circled back around to a word of advice for her girls.

I found her narration in the audiobook to be super entertaining too and made it easy to keep listening.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Cancer and Alcohol

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

funny fast-paced

3.5

Really enjoyed the audiobook as someone who hasn't seen any of Ali Wong's standup. I don't think I would've enjoyed this as much if I read the physical book. It was pretty funny and heartfelt in many parts of the book and went by quickly, but some of it felt off for me. I think part of the reason is because I don't like the word "pussy" and she uses it a lot. If you aren't into raunchy comedy at all, I'd say skip this. Another part that could be the reason it didn't work for me as much is when she is talking about being Asian it always comes off as very east Asian-centric, and it always makes me feel like if you arent that kind of Asian then you aren't Asian. Even tho she is Chinese Vietnamese and talks about her time in Vietnam, it was still super east Asian-centric. When discussing choosing Asian restaurants, she really only mentioned east Asian cuisine. Maybe this is just telling me I should stop looking for wider/inclusive Asian rep from east Asians. 
Not to say the book is bad by any means, I overall did enjoy listening to the audio since she delivers it in such an engaging and entertaining way. It def isn't the worst non-fiction I've read, but it's not my fave either. It's a good, quick read if you are looking to fill a little bit of time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug use, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

koreanlinda's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I started this audiobook on a high note after watching Netflix series Beef. I was impressed by Ali Wong's storytelling and acting skills in the show. The audiobook is read by Ali Wong herself, and her reading is full of her characters. 

Sharing of her personal life stories with sarcasm and punchlines did not last the whole book. By the end, I was tired of her close-to-yelling and extreme self deprecation even though I listened to is on many separate sittings with plenty of breaks in-between. 

Unfortunately I could not help but judge Ali Wong's character as well. All the confession of her mistakes made her look like a very selfish person because those mistakes hurt and damage others so much. In my eyes, they were not funny. 

One more thing that bothered me was the underlying hetero-normativity and traditional ideas of women's happy life in a family with children. I don't remember the details. If you are a fan of hers, I recommend giving a listen. It might be more enjoyable to cherry-pick chapters that interest you more, otherwise, it might feel like a long story to listen to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

emmehooks's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Sexual content

Moderate: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Rape, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

laurenlee2158's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

kasaya_mt33's review against another edition

funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.75

The author was witty and funny - she is a comedian after all. I'm not a fan of vulgar comedy but I liked how unapologetic she was about being a foul-mouthed, Asian-American woman. Takes alot of guts to be a comedian, tank a show and still continue to do it. Thats perseverence. Interspersed with a bit of wisdom, and a letter from the girls father, it takes lots of courage, sacrifice and understanding from both Ali and her husband to live the way they choose to live. While I wouldn't write anything like this to my daughters, its good to be open about the realities of life. Kudos to the author for being forthright about her experiences 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use and Racial slurs

Minor: Miscarriage

katrinarose's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Eating disorder

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

funny informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

3.5

This was cute. It's a little sad reading after she and her husband filed for divorce, but it's a very cute idea to leave something for your kiddos.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Excrement, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Racial slurs, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit

Folks who like her comedy will like this book.

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol

joyfromhope's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

This book was not what I was expecting. Because it was titled "Dear Girls" and written for her daughters, I thought it would be targeted more towards young women. Instead, it really read more like a detailed, raunchy, autobiography. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had understood the true purpose of the book, however overall I thought it leaned a bit too heavily on bringing in explicit sexual information as a gag even when talking about other things. Some of the stories were really moving, especially when she talked about her mother and learning more about where she was from, but I'm not sure who I would recommend this book for.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, and Excrement

Minor: Drug use