Ali Wong’s Raunchy Humor Charms in ‘Dear Girls’

“Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life,” Random House, by Ali Wong

In comedian Ali Wong’s “Dear Girls,” Wong opens by declaring that she was nervous to write a book because she didn’t feel smart enough. She found her groove, she says, when she realized that she could embrace her vulgar and silly self and release any pressure to sound particularly intellectual or wise.

And yet Wong proves herself to be as brilliant as ever, showcasing her unique ability to use jokes about things like poop and other bodily excretions to communicate relatable and important truths about everything from parenthood to marriage to marginalization.

“Dear Girls” gives readers a glimpse into Wong’s life before and since her Netflix special, “Baby Cobra,” made her a household name. The book is structured as a series of letters to Wong’s two daughters, with whom she was famously pregnant in each of her first two Netflix specials. Wong dispenses advice to Mari and Nikki through exceedingly honest stories about her life (which she forbids them from reading until they are at least 21 years old).

The book is laugh-out-loud funny, each chapter filled with that signature Ali Wong charm. Wong is self-assured and raunchy, yet at the same time vulnerable and sentimental. There is so much love in these pages between Wong and her family. She writes beautifully about her parents, siblings, daughters and husband. She also writes about bombing at tiny comedy clubs, being broke in New York City, dating the wrong men and ultimately, “trapping” her husband. Molly Spraygen, AP