Arc Review: So Close to Being the Shit, Y’all Don’t Even Know

So Close to Being the Shit, Y’all Don’t Even Know By Retta

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Humor
Pages: 272 pages
Publication Date: May 29th 2018
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Plot: In So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know, Parks and Recreation star Retta takes us on her not-so-meteoric rise from roaches to riches (well, rich enough that she can buy $15,000 designer handbags yet scared enough to know she’s always a heartbeat away from ramen with American cheese).

Throwing her hard-working Liberian parents for a loop, Retta abandons her plan to attend med school after graduating Duke University to move to Hollywood to star in her own sitcom―like her comedy heroes Lucille Ball and Roseanne.

Say what? Word. Turns out Retta might actually be on to something. After winning Comedy Central’s stand-up competition, she should be ready for prime time―but a fear of success derails her biggest dream.

Whether reminiscing about her days as a contract chemist at GlaxoSmithKline, telling “dirty” jokes to Mormons, feeling like the odd man out on Parks, fending off racist trolls on Twitter, flirting with Michael Fassbender, or expertly stalking the cast of “Hamilton,” Retta’s unique voice and refreshing honesty will make you laugh, cry, and laugh so hard you’ll cry.

Her eponymous sitcom might not have happened yet, but by the end of So Close to Being the Sh*t, you’ll be rooting for Retta to be the next one-named wonder to take over your television. And she just might inspire you to reach for the stars, too.

My Thoughts: If you know me, you know that I am a huge Parks and Recreation fan. I had no idea Retta was coming out with an autobiography. I had to request it right away from Netgalley. I am so happy that I ended up getting approved for this. It was such a fun read.

I don’t know a lot about Retta besides that she was a character on Parks and Recreation but I ended up learning so much about her from this book. I loved how open she was about everything. I feel like sometimes in celebrity autobiographies people tend to hold back a lot. Retta did not do that at all. She talks about her childhood, college days, how she got started, loosing weight, her love for Hamilton and so much more. I really got to know Retta as a person. I felt she was very real about everything and that was something I really appreciated. Plus she’s so funny. All of her stories had me cracking up. I think my favorite chapter was when she was talking about weddings. That probably had the best ending of all the chapters.

I really can’t wait for this book to come out. I really would like to reread it with the audiobook. I feel that would really end up adding to the experience. When I was reading this I could hear Retta at some points. I just feel like it isn’t the same though. I feel like celebrity autobiographies are best when you listen to the audiobook of it. They sometimes go off topic or add a little something extra to the book. I would love to hear Retta tell some of her jokes. I hope you guys end up enjoying it too,

*Thank you so much Netgalley for a free copy of this book for my honest opinion.*

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Have you guys read this book? If so did you end up enjoying it? If not do you think you’ll end up picking it up in the future? I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

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