In comedian Youngmi Mayer's new memoir, laughter is a lifeline

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR

Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2024

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

Comedian, writer and podcast host Youngmi Mayer was raised in Korea and Saipan with a Korean mom and a white American father. Their relationship was strained at times as Mayer navigated her family's generational trauma and often took on a parental role. She pushed through these struggles, and others, through humor–and that strategy frames her new memoir, I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying. Mayer speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about her family story in today's episode. They also discuss Mayer's original pitch for the book's title, relatability in Asian American storytelling and how she became a standup comedian.

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1:20.0	plus side today at plus.mpr.org. Thanks so much. Hey, it's NPR's book of the day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. All right, we made it through Thanksgiving.
1:31.4	I hope you made it out okay. And I hope family drama was kept at a minimum. But if it wasn't,
1:38.1	that's okay too. It's kind of the point behind today's book, actually. It's a memoir titled,
1:42.9	I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying by comedian Young Me Mayor. It's a memoir titled, I'm Laughing Because I'm
1:44.3	Crying by comedian Young Me Mayor. It's an open and honest look at her relationship with her parents
1:49.8	and how there was some stuff going on at home that she's still dealing with today. And yeah,
1:54.4	some of it has to do with some baggage specific to her Korean culture. But to quote,
1:58.6	The Breakfast Club, everyone's home life is unsatisfying.
	...

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