I finished Tiffany Haddish's book "The Last Black Unicorn" and cannot shake some of the insight and lessons learned from this hilarious, storied, smart, and determined woman. I have had to explain who she is to some of my friends and became fed up with people not knowing her so I though I would let you all know why I care so much, and how this book impacted me. Here are a few take-aways I had:
First off, she is deeply funny. In an genuine and honest way that doesn't feel like typical humor. She brings you close, not in a fake way that so many YouTube and "stars of the moment" do, but in a way that endears you to her and makes you care what she has to say. She honestly does not have any inhibitions and its refreshing.
Second, you cannot keep this woman down. I cried reading some of the things that have happened to her. Dad leaves at 3, Mom is an car accident at 8, abuse, foster care at 15, couldn't read until high school. Stand up introduced her to people who believed in her. She used her comedy to make her mother laugh when she would lose her mind, keep a roof over her head when she was homeless, and work through her emotions. They say the funniest people are the most broken, and Tiffany makes a strong case for that here, using her past to fuel her future.
Lastly, she is ambitious as hell with the integrity to match. This is the part that stuck out to me the most. You would expect this scrappy girl to be scarred by the world she grew up in and scared. I certainly would've been. But there is a story that speaks to her integrity: Tiffany showed up to a comedy gig 10 min before she was suppose to go on, with a black eye from an abusive husband, crying and upset. her manager wanted to push the time back and give Tiffany time to recover but Tiffany said no, these people paid to see me and to laugh so I have to go on. The manger said she slipped into her persona and delivered a fantastic show and left the entire room howling with laughter. She persisted even through pain.
Honesty, determination, and ambition with integrity are hard to find these days, but Tiffany Haddish displays them all. She has inspired me to be the best I can and has shown me I can do it on my own terms. It was a powerful book, and I highly recommend it! You'll laugh, cry, and learn something about yourself in the process.