Rabbit by Patricia Williams with Jeannine Amber

I am now on TikTok. I don't post anything, but I am its new number one fan. TikTok makes Instragram and Facebook look static, like old news. TikTok brings me joy. My husband thinks I have lost my mind because I find the reels so entertaining. I joined because several friends, including Dr. Donald H. and Janice S., said it was "educational." I thought that was an interesting word to use about a social media app, but they were absolutely right. I have learned so many new things from TikTok, but more especially about books. A woman on TikTok posted a video and declared "Rabbit" by Patricia Williams was one of her all-time-top audio books. So, I had to make a b-line to download it from my library. Read by the author, "Rabbit" is a memoir about how Williams grew up poor, black and female in Atlanta during the height of the crack epidemic. Nicknamed Rabbit, she was raised by an alcoholic mother with four other children. In elementary school she began "dating" a married man eight years older than her, and she was pregnant by 13. By 15 years old, she was the mother of two children. Determined to support her kids, but only saddled with an 8th grade education, Rabbit started to successfully deal drugs on the street to support her young family. Despite time in prison, Rabbit finds a way out of her life of crime, and parlays her story into a career as a standup comedian. Yes, you read that correctly: a standup comedian. As she explains in the book, comedy and drug dealing have a lot in common. Both professions require you to be quick, work hard and give people what they want. Patricia Williams' story is nothing short of amazing, and so is she. If she ever comes to San Francisco to perform, I will be the first in line to buy a ticket. To buy this book on Amazon click here.