"You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism," by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar

Sisters Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, in their book “You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism” (Grand Central, 2021) have taken a different approach than most authors do to the topic of race and racism in the United States: they describe it through the use of humor – very pointed, laugh-out-loud and at the same time shake-your-head-about-how-wrong-and-crazy-things-are humor. Ruffin is a writer and cast member on “Late Night with Seth Myers,” and recently began her own show, “The Amber Ruffin Show.” She lives in New York City, whereas her sister Lacey lives in Nebraska, where she works in health and human services. The book focuses, as the title suggests, on Lacey’s experiences with racism, and the sisters’ conversations about those experiences. The book is essentially a series of stories about things that people have said and done to or in front of Lacey; the authors somehow manage to reveal how shocking the stories are and at the same time make them humorous – a real achievement, and an effective approach. The sisters toggle between being discouraged at the fact that racism prevails even now, and being cautiously hopeful that things can and do change, at least very slowly. Besides pointing out the racism in everyday life (as well as in larger settings), their main point is (as they themselves state) that it is important to speak out, to name the problem, and even, sometimes, to laugh at it. This is a brave, thought-provoking, and – yes – humorous book.