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Who Do I Think I Am?: Stories of Chola Wishes and Caviar Dreams
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Humor (2022)Anjelah Johnson-Reyes had two dreams as a to be an actress and to be a chola.
You may know Anjelah Johnson for her viral sketch "Nail Salon" (over 100 million views globally) or her beloved ghetto-fabulous MadTV character Bon Qui Qui, but it's her clean humor and hilarious storytelling that make her one of the most successful stand-up comedians and actresses today.
With her razor-sharp wit, Anjelah recounts funny stories from her journey—from growing up caught between two worlds (do chips and salsa go with potato salad?) to unexpectedly embracing faith (“I love Jesus, but I will punch a ‘ho”) to her many adventures in dating (she may or may not have accepted dates simply for the food). Through it all, Anjelah transforms from a suburban-adjacent kid with Aquanet-drenched hair into a devoted Christian who abstains from drinking and premarital sex, into a mall-famous Oakland Raiders cheerleader, and then an actually famous comedian traveling the world and meeting people from all-walks of life, including Oprah. No biggie. (Huge biggie.) As she travels the world, Anjelah has eye-opening experiences, and she morphs from square, rigid Anjelah into “Funjelah,” and learns that she can still ride with Jesus without squashing the other parts of her personality.
Anjelah's stories explore subjects such as navigating your racial identity, finding your place in the world, chasing your crazy dreams, the messiness of an evolving faith, and searching for belonging and meaning. Through her journey, Anjelah gets closer to discovering her true identity and encourages readers to have the audacity to dream big.
You may know Anjelah Johnson for her viral sketch "Nail Salon" (over 100 million views globally) or her beloved ghetto-fabulous MadTV character Bon Qui Qui, but it's her clean humor and hilarious storytelling that make her one of the most successful stand-up comedians and actresses today.
With her razor-sharp wit, Anjelah recounts funny stories from her journey—from growing up caught between two worlds (do chips and salsa go with potato salad?) to unexpectedly embracing faith (“I love Jesus, but I will punch a ‘ho”) to her many adventures in dating (she may or may not have accepted dates simply for the food). Through it all, Anjelah transforms from a suburban-adjacent kid with Aquanet-drenched hair into a devoted Christian who abstains from drinking and premarital sex, into a mall-famous Oakland Raiders cheerleader, and then an actually famous comedian traveling the world and meeting people from all-walks of life, including Oprah. No biggie. (Huge biggie.) As she travels the world, Anjelah has eye-opening experiences, and she morphs from square, rigid Anjelah into “Funjelah,” and learns that she can still ride with Jesus without squashing the other parts of her personality.
Anjelah's stories explore subjects such as navigating your racial identity, finding your place in the world, chasing your crazy dreams, the messiness of an evolving faith, and searching for belonging and meaning. Through her journey, Anjelah gets closer to discovering her true identity and encourages readers to have the audacity to dream big.
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First published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews
July 9, 2022
Knowing that Anjelah is what I would consider a hardcore Christian and a clean comic I wasn't sure if I would be able to get into this memoir.
Her faith influences all her decisions and is brought up frequently in the book, but it wasn't preachy or judgemental. It was just like God was her best friend or a beloved family member and He came up all the time because He was right there for a lot of the book.
I also appreciate her critiques on purity culture and the frankness of the impact it had on her marriage.
Overall her anecdotes were funny, but I felt that there was some repetition in the book that ruined the flow and some parts dragged a bit.
Her faith influences all her decisions and is brought up frequently in the book, but it wasn't preachy or judgemental. It was just like God was her best friend or a beloved family member and He came up all the time because He was right there for a lot of the book.
I also appreciate her critiques on purity culture and the frankness of the impact it had on her marriage.
Overall her anecdotes were funny, but I felt that there was some repetition in the book that ruined the flow and some parts dragged a bit.
September 10, 2022
Her humor made me laugh. Her theology made me cringe.
February 3, 2023
Who Do I Think I Am? All Anjelah has ever wanted was to be an actress. Growing up in California in a Latino family Anjelah writes this memoirs about her upbringing, her friends, school and everything in between. She talks about how she ended up becoming a comic and how she met the love of her life.
I remember the first time I seen Anjelah. I was scrolling through YouTube and stopped on one of her videos where she was doing stand up comedy. She had me laughing and I just remember thinking hey I’m Mexican too and I don’t speak Spanish either. I loved her stories and all the jokes she had. When I seen she had a memoir I knew I had to read it. I listened to the audiobook and followed along with my book. I love how she reads her own book and that made the experience of reading/listening better. I give this memoir an A+
I remember the first time I seen Anjelah. I was scrolling through YouTube and stopped on one of her videos where she was doing stand up comedy. She had me laughing and I just remember thinking hey I’m Mexican too and I don’t speak Spanish either. I loved her stories and all the jokes she had. When I seen she had a memoir I knew I had to read it. I listened to the audiobook and followed along with my book. I love how she reads her own book and that made the experience of reading/listening better. I give this memoir an A+
November 29, 2022
I love her comedy. I love how true she always is to herself and her convictions. I think it’s amazing how she has been able to build a career as a Believer and a comedian who works ‘clean.’
I really loved the first 60% of this book—I also really loved her audiobook narration. It was a beautiful story of her growing up and finding her way and own path in comedy. I struggled in the last half because it got slow and started to feel a little preachy which is why I went with 3 instead of 4 stars.
I really loved the first 60% of this book—I also really loved her audiobook narration. It was a beautiful story of her growing up and finding her way and own path in comedy. I struggled in the last half because it got slow and started to feel a little preachy which is why I went with 3 instead of 4 stars.
July 15, 2022
Extremely disappointing book that starts off slow and mediocre, then gets progressively worse. This author is not emotionally ready to put together a full memoir and instead wastes our time with repetitive unimportant details of her life without providing enough specific interesting stories, a boring section on doing nothing during 2020, and a chapter on animals. I've learned something from reading over 800 celebrity memoirs--if there is a chapter on pets or on childbearing, the author isn't willing to share enough real stories to make the book worth reading.
There's nothing funny about it. The book is filled with anxiety and worry, and whatever respect I had for her claim to Christianity was lost in the middle of it all because Anjelah Johnson-Reyes does not really know who she is.
She uses the book to basically mention everyone she feels a debt of gratitude to. So instead of us hearing specifics about being in a Chipmunk movie or doing a reality TV show, we get names of people we don't care about that helped her through minor life issues. Why is there so little about the things we know her for, beyond some old YouTube clip? She mentions her first job being on Friends as a background player, but that doesn't exactly make her look good either since her career is based on lies she told in order to get work.
Her Mexican background is mentioned throughout the book but she seems to think we all understand what she's talking about when she brings up the many Hispanic stereotypes in the book. I was often confused about why she was saying racist things that she thinks are funny. The more she talked about her family and ethnic background, the more she seemed to be communicating that all those racial caricatures we see are true.
The author overpraises her father, who she also reveals was a constant physical abuser. Anjelah seems very confused, saying she is proud to be just like her dad, then revealing all sorts of horrible things he has done. The author also overpraises herself, giving her stardom and celebrity much greater credit than it is.
When it comes to her supposed Christianity, there is little evidence of it here, but now I understand why people like Amy Schumer and Eva Longoria endorsed her book--the author doesn't really have much of a Christian faith, now parties like the rest of the Hollywood elite, and is what she calls "backslidden." She claims to have been a conservative fundamentalist type but there's little evidence of it beyond her saving herself for marriage and taking on certain Mormon-like disciplines. Otherwise while she goes to church multiple times a week she is also doing drugs, drinking a lot, and sleeping with guys while stopping short of having sex. And much of that is just in her mid-teens!
She has a gay brother and goes overboard standing up for the LGBT community, but that clashes with her Christian followers--who she subtly slams at various times in the book for their expectations that she actually live the faith she proclaims. In typical Hollywood hypocrisy, she reveals her intolerance toward those that disagree with her while condemning them for standing up for their beliefs.
Johnson-Reyes does not give a specific moment of conversion to believing in Jesus other than a bizarre church camp experience where everyone is going to sleep in the cabin but laughing uncontrollably "in the spirit" and she decides after that to take her faith more seriously. Huh? She does start going to church more while increasing her drinking, using profanity without apology, flirting with guys to get them to "cuddle," online going on dates to get fed well, lying, and using drugs from her "friends." I don't think she quite got the message of true Christianity.
Then later in the book she starts to question her beliefs and goes more eastern religion. The comedian is extremely self-centered, insecure, and selfish when it comes to her faith, never truly accepting objective truth or beliefs that have come down over the past 2000 years. Anjelah (and other modern supposed Christians like her) thinks she knows better than all those other hundreds of millions of believers that came before her, rejects religious boundaries, and starts acting like an alcoholic that swears and mocks communion. Nothing funny about it.
Also nothing inspirational about it. All the endorsements she gets on the cover and inside pages either did not really read the book or they are non-religious comedians who are happy to see her fall off the Christian bandwagon. Their words of praise about the book being funny ring hallow--this is actually a sad and serious commentary on the state of young adults that claim to have faith or say they want peace or claim to be funny, but in truth are anxious, self-focused, materialistic, and depressed. There is a way to know who you are and this isn't it.
There's nothing funny about it. The book is filled with anxiety and worry, and whatever respect I had for her claim to Christianity was lost in the middle of it all because Anjelah Johnson-Reyes does not really know who she is.
She uses the book to basically mention everyone she feels a debt of gratitude to. So instead of us hearing specifics about being in a Chipmunk movie or doing a reality TV show, we get names of people we don't care about that helped her through minor life issues. Why is there so little about the things we know her for, beyond some old YouTube clip? She mentions her first job being on Friends as a background player, but that doesn't exactly make her look good either since her career is based on lies she told in order to get work.
Her Mexican background is mentioned throughout the book but she seems to think we all understand what she's talking about when she brings up the many Hispanic stereotypes in the book. I was often confused about why she was saying racist things that she thinks are funny. The more she talked about her family and ethnic background, the more she seemed to be communicating that all those racial caricatures we see are true.
The author overpraises her father, who she also reveals was a constant physical abuser. Anjelah seems very confused, saying she is proud to be just like her dad, then revealing all sorts of horrible things he has done. The author also overpraises herself, giving her stardom and celebrity much greater credit than it is.
When it comes to her supposed Christianity, there is little evidence of it here, but now I understand why people like Amy Schumer and Eva Longoria endorsed her book--the author doesn't really have much of a Christian faith, now parties like the rest of the Hollywood elite, and is what she calls "backslidden." She claims to have been a conservative fundamentalist type but there's little evidence of it beyond her saving herself for marriage and taking on certain Mormon-like disciplines. Otherwise while she goes to church multiple times a week she is also doing drugs, drinking a lot, and sleeping with guys while stopping short of having sex. And much of that is just in her mid-teens!
She has a gay brother and goes overboard standing up for the LGBT community, but that clashes with her Christian followers--who she subtly slams at various times in the book for their expectations that she actually live the faith she proclaims. In typical Hollywood hypocrisy, she reveals her intolerance toward those that disagree with her while condemning them for standing up for their beliefs.
Johnson-Reyes does not give a specific moment of conversion to believing in Jesus other than a bizarre church camp experience where everyone is going to sleep in the cabin but laughing uncontrollably "in the spirit" and she decides after that to take her faith more seriously. Huh? She does start going to church more while increasing her drinking, using profanity without apology, flirting with guys to get them to "cuddle," online going on dates to get fed well, lying, and using drugs from her "friends." I don't think she quite got the message of true Christianity.
Then later in the book she starts to question her beliefs and goes more eastern religion. The comedian is extremely self-centered, insecure, and selfish when it comes to her faith, never truly accepting objective truth or beliefs that have come down over the past 2000 years. Anjelah (and other modern supposed Christians like her) thinks she knows better than all those other hundreds of millions of believers that came before her, rejects religious boundaries, and starts acting like an alcoholic that swears and mocks communion. Nothing funny about it.
Also nothing inspirational about it. All the endorsements she gets on the cover and inside pages either did not really read the book or they are non-religious comedians who are happy to see her fall off the Christian bandwagon. Their words of praise about the book being funny ring hallow--this is actually a sad and serious commentary on the state of young adults that claim to have faith or say they want peace or claim to be funny, but in truth are anxious, self-focused, materialistic, and depressed. There is a way to know who you are and this isn't it.
June 2, 2023
I don't remember when I discovered Anjelah Johnson-Reyes but I loved her right away. Her humor always cheers me up and gets me out of my head. It feels (to me) that we are just sitting in the living room with her eating and listening to her share her stories.
I hope I can meet her one day and thank her for calming the anxiety and depression monsters. She is one of my go tos when a I need a pick me up.
Reading her book was such a fun time. I loved getting a glimpse into her life and hearing about how she kept going even when she wasn't feeling it. It was very inspiring 👏
She struggles with anxiety as well, so I understood what she was saying. I nodded and said "I get it hun."
The way she talks about religion, isn't preachy at all. Just her own journey, it was beautiful.
I took my time ,to savor this but I did zoom through the last three chapters hehe. Didn't want it to end, wanted to keep "hanging out" with her. This is one where eventually I want a copy of every format.
The pictures at the end of the ebook was a nice touch (her school pictures turned out nice). My favorites were with her grandma, tia, and her hubby though.
Would recommend 👌
I hope I can meet her one day and thank her for calming the anxiety and depression monsters. She is one of my go tos when a I need a pick me up.
Reading her book was such a fun time. I loved getting a glimpse into her life and hearing about how she kept going even when she wasn't feeling it. It was very inspiring 👏
She struggles with anxiety as well, so I understood what she was saying. I nodded and said "I get it hun."
The way she talks about religion, isn't preachy at all. Just her own journey, it was beautiful.
I took my time ,to savor this but I did zoom through the last three chapters hehe. Didn't want it to end, wanted to keep "hanging out" with her. This is one where eventually I want a copy of every format.
The pictures at the end of the ebook was a nice touch (her school pictures turned out nice). My favorites were with her grandma, tia, and her hubby though.
Would recommend 👌
December 26, 2022
Pretty dull and repetitive. I’m not a Christian, but I felt her constant discussion of her religion to be a little annoying. But probably because I do not share her belief.
February 17, 2023
I really liked this book 2/3 of the way. But the last 1/3 I felt like all that was being shoved down my throat was progressive Christian thinking and beliefs. I am not about that. That’s fine if you want to believe that, but when you ask me to questions my beliefs and ‘are you believing this cause you really do or cause you haven’t challenged it?’ Not really happy with that. But otherwise I enjoy her comedy and her way of narrating her book. Just could have done with out the changing beliefs preaching.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 8, 2024No rating; I didn’t finish the book. I think Johnson is hilarious, and I was looking for a book with a lot of laughs. Her story is interesting and humorous, but not what I was hoping for from her.
July 14, 2022
I liked it enough. I didn't expect all the religious talk on every other page but it was okay.
March 12, 2023
Who Do I Think I Am?: Stories of Chola Wishes and Caviar Dreams
I Picked Up This Book Because: I enjoy this author's work in comedy.
Media Type: Audiobook
Source: BC Public Library
Dates Read: 3/3/23 - 3/6/23
Stars: 4
Narrator(s): Anjelah Johnson-Reyes
The Story:
I had no idea Anjelah was so religious. That was very eye opening in this book. (not in any good/bad or judgemental way) This was so open. I think we discussed all aspects of her life and I really enjoyed learning so much about her life.
I Picked Up This Book Because: I enjoy this author's work in comedy.
Media Type: Audiobook
Source: BC Public Library
Dates Read: 3/3/23 - 3/6/23
Stars: 4
Narrator(s): Anjelah Johnson-Reyes
The Story:
I had no idea Anjelah was so religious. That was very eye opening in this book. (not in any good/bad or judgemental way) This was so open. I think we discussed all aspects of her life and I really enjoyed learning so much about her life.
April 27, 2025
Reyes is adorable and funny. Comedy memoirs - personal stories paired with known comedy bits - are the perfect palate cleanser. Really enjoyed!
October 6, 2022
Really funny book. I loved listening to her life before Hollywood and during. My heart hurts that she is deconstructing her faith & falling into the new age movement. She talks about talking to a dog whisperer (what even is that?) and doing mediation with her husband that includes lap dancing. 🫣
Here are a few quotes from her book that gave me some red flags as a Christian.
“I personally don’t believe the Bible gives you exact answers. the Bible gives you beautiful and some scary stories to learn lessons from as you figure out your own journey of life. My thoughts of what happen when you die are changing, I used to be so sure it was very black or white. I’ve been asking more questions about this and learning more schools of thoughts - what if we are all just energy & what if when you die that energy continues on in the non physical? When if when you die your soul goes into a waiting room until the big judgment day? What if when we transition out of this body, our soul jumps over to a new body, or plant or butterfly. “
And
“I want to live my life manifesting and co-creating with God the things I want”
It seems like she is chasing after the happiness of success and not the joy in knowing Jesus Christ. And that makes me sad.
Here are a few quotes from her book that gave me some red flags as a Christian.
“I personally don’t believe the Bible gives you exact answers. the Bible gives you beautiful and some scary stories to learn lessons from as you figure out your own journey of life. My thoughts of what happen when you die are changing, I used to be so sure it was very black or white. I’ve been asking more questions about this and learning more schools of thoughts - what if we are all just energy & what if when you die that energy continues on in the non physical? When if when you die your soul goes into a waiting room until the big judgment day? What if when we transition out of this body, our soul jumps over to a new body, or plant or butterfly. “
And
“I want to live my life manifesting and co-creating with God the things I want”
It seems like she is chasing after the happiness of success and not the joy in knowing Jesus Christ. And that makes me sad.
April 29, 2024
I like this comedian. I’ve always thought herto be funny, genuine, and not crass and crude. I listen to the audiobook and it was narrated by her and she did a phenomenal job on the narration.
I mostly liked this book. The author states that she is a Christian and she talks about her life her siblings her parents, her faith. There were a lot of little red flags that made me go not sure I agree with her. But I kept listening to the audiobook being open to what she had to say
until I got to about chapter I don’t know 12. I think it was chapter 11 or 12 and through the rest of the book. It became one big “why I deconstructed and how fun and cool am I now“. I did not see that coming, and it was a huge turn off.
She herself says somewhere in about chapter 14. Well this is what I used to believe and this is what I now believe, but gee I don’t know. check back with me in another year because I may believe something else.
What?
Truth is truth. Being a follower of Jesus means following the truth of scripture. Not following your feelings.
If you’re looking for a really funny comedian, she’s your gal.
If you’re looking for someone to give you the truth and hope found in Jesus Christ and in Scripture, do not pick up this book.
I mostly liked this book. The author states that she is a Christian and she talks about her life her siblings her parents, her faith. There were a lot of little red flags that made me go not sure I agree with her. But I kept listening to the audiobook being open to what she had to say
until I got to about chapter I don’t know 12. I think it was chapter 11 or 12 and through the rest of the book. It became one big “why I deconstructed and how fun and cool am I now“. I did not see that coming, and it was a huge turn off.
She herself says somewhere in about chapter 14. Well this is what I used to believe and this is what I now believe, but gee I don’t know. check back with me in another year because I may believe something else.
What?
Truth is truth. Being a follower of Jesus means following the truth of scripture. Not following your feelings.
If you’re looking for a really funny comedian, she’s your gal.
If you’re looking for someone to give you the truth and hope found in Jesus Christ and in Scripture, do not pick up this book.
September 15, 2022
I got to see Anjelah perform recently, and she was promoting this book-so I checked out the audio. I really enjoyed it. I loved her thoughts on being “equally yoked” with your partner and co-creating a life with God using free agency that ultimately came from Him. I love when people share about living their purpose with faith.
March 23, 2022
4.5 stars! I really liked this book. Before reading this book I only had a little knowledge of who Anjelah Johnson-Reyes was because of the tv show The Real Dirty Dancing on Fox. It was fun to get to know her throughout the book. I found this book refreshing and hilarious.
September 4, 2024
To start while this book is autobiography the red thread through it is Anjelah’s spirituality. And it is VERY present. I probably wouldn’t have read it had I known but by the end I’m glad I did. I had seen her specials and thought she was hilarious. I knew she mentioned being Christian sometimes but I never realized she was **CHRISTIAN**.
I really thought this book would be a two star review for about 90% of it. I’m mildly spiritual and I’m definitely not religious. I have a decent amount of religious trauma from my upbringing. For most of the book, Angela’s beliefs and how frequently she references them was very offputting for me. Though I understood that, those beliefs are important to her and that am the one actively choosing to read her book.
Later in the book she goes into how she began to question some elements of organized religion and Christian culture. She talks about how she and her husband began to work through this questions for themselves and dig into the deeper meanings rather than literal hard lines of dogma.
This was incredibly refreshing to read about. She also goes on to talk about how this led her to loosen up and enjoy some “sinful” aspects of life in healthy moderation like wine with dinner. Or margaritas with your friends. And how this shift positively impacted her relationships. How many of her family and friends opened up with her and developed a different bond now that they didn’t feel judged or preached to.
The book ends with her spirituality in a place way closer to my own than I ever could have thought after reading the first half of this book. I have so much respect for her as a person who had done the work to actually did in and question why she believes what she does and revises her beliefs based on what she discovers.
I still don’t think I can give this more than 3 stars though just from the amount of time before this shift that had me gritting my teeth and sighing deeply. I but I have to say without all of that leading up, her reevaluating her life wouldn’t have been as impactful.
Much respect Anjelah. Here’s to Funjelah and evolving as people.
I really thought this book would be a two star review for about 90% of it. I’m mildly spiritual and I’m definitely not religious. I have a decent amount of religious trauma from my upbringing. For most of the book, Angela’s beliefs and how frequently she references them was very offputting for me. Though I understood that, those beliefs are important to her and that am the one actively choosing to read her book.
Later in the book she goes into how she began to question some elements of organized religion and Christian culture. She talks about how she and her husband began to work through this questions for themselves and dig into the deeper meanings rather than literal hard lines of dogma.
This was incredibly refreshing to read about. She also goes on to talk about how this led her to loosen up and enjoy some “sinful” aspects of life in healthy moderation like wine with dinner. Or margaritas with your friends. And how this shift positively impacted her relationships. How many of her family and friends opened up with her and developed a different bond now that they didn’t feel judged or preached to.
The book ends with her spirituality in a place way closer to my own than I ever could have thought after reading the first half of this book. I have so much respect for her as a person who had done the work to actually did in and question why she believes what she does and revises her beliefs based on what she discovers.
I still don’t think I can give this more than 3 stars though just from the amount of time before this shift that had me gritting my teeth and sighing deeply. I but I have to say without all of that leading up, her reevaluating her life wouldn’t have been as impactful.
Much respect Anjelah. Here’s to Funjelah and evolving as people.
May 3, 2023
Okieeeedoke—I don’t talk about my being atheist a lot, but I feel like it’s important to mention in regards to this book. I looooove Anjelah Johnson, and I already knew that she was pretty Christian oriented and that it was a driving factor in the kinds of humor she works in. So, I was expecting the moments that would possibly make me roll my eyes. There were a bit more than I was expecting especially because some were kind of just repeating the same thing over and over about why her spirituality is important to her, otherwise I may have given a five star. I felt much more comfortable towards the end of the book when her talk about theology was to go into detail surrounding why she started moving from religion and focusing on her spiritual views. Despite my not agreeing with all of her views, it made me gentle towards the amount of religious commentary in the rest of the book.
Outside of all that. This was exactly what I expected. Lighthearted and silly and written in a way that didn’t make me feel like a ghost writer did it for her to make her sound more eloquent and interesting (even if one did, they did a good job writing in a way that felt like her voice).
Outside of all that. This was exactly what I expected. Lighthearted and silly and written in a way that didn’t make me feel like a ghost writer did it for her to make her sound more eloquent and interesting (even if one did, they did a good job writing in a way that felt like her voice).
June 20, 2023
I enjoyed this book. I really liked reading about her childhood especially since I grew up in the same city. Instead of having to imagine the places she was talking about, I knew exactly where it was. I respect her moral compass and will continue to cheer for the hometown girl who made it in Hollywood.
April 23, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ definitely recommend the audiobook!
April 4, 2022
I have been a fan of Anjelah and her comedy for years. I have streamed all of her specials and am a longtime follower on Instagram. That being said, perhaps this book was geared more toward new fans as opposed to long-standing fans. It is a fine book, but being that she has already shared most of the info through her comedy or through Instagram I felt that the book did not offer me much that I had not already enjoyed. There were a few good quips and I appreciated her writings on her marriage and especially "church culture," but would have preferred more new content. I hope there is another book sometime soon, and I will definitely continue to follow her career.
August 23, 2022
Must. Listen. To. On. Audio.
She has so many hilarious voice inflections and she adds some little comments that if you read it vs. listened to it, you might not get all of the humor that Anjelah's voice gives.
I love memoirs and Anjelah's is one of my favorites! She's real, transparent, deep, and spiritual. A very inspiring read.
She has so many hilarious voice inflections and she adds some little comments that if you read it vs. listened to it, you might not get all of the humor that Anjelah's voice gives.
I love memoirs and Anjelah's is one of my favorites! She's real, transparent, deep, and spiritual. A very inspiring read.
November 2, 2023
Anjelah is a great comedian, most likely known for her "nail salon" bit. Audiobook is narrated by her (her husband makes a cameo). Very faith based. If you enjoy her comedy specials, this is a must read.
April 22, 2022
In Who Do I Think I Am, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes has written a personal story about her life. She is a stand-up comedian and her most famous viral video is of being the nail salon lady. She also starred on MadTV as Bon Qui Qui and later even released a whole album as that character. She starred in The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Enough Said, Our Family Weddings, and guest starred on Ugly Betty, The Shield, Superstore, and much more. She was even an extra on Friends. She was born and raised in San Jose, California. She begins the book by sharing how she at first wanted to be a lawyer growing up and then she realized she wanted to become an actress. Throughout the book, she will reveal our journey on become a comedian and an actress. She also shared stories about Hollywood and the entertainment field. Another big part of the book was how she became a Christian and grew in her faith. She shared her dating adventures and how she eventually met her husband, Manny who is a Christian recording artist, Group 1 Crew.
One of my favorite stories was about the topic of stray dogs and how she always wanted to rescue them. She always wanted a dog of her own and it took her husband a few years to break down and let them get one. One of her stories involved heavy rain and a wild chase to catch the dog for over four hours. I loved the humor she added to the story and I can just see her feeding the dog and trying to bribe it and acting like a crazy kidnapper.
I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who is needing a good laugh and they have enjoyed watching her comedian shows. I remember seeing her nail lady salon video and laughing at it. I also remember even more her starring as Bon Qui Qui. This character is hilarious and if you have ever worked in customer service you can very much relate to her. I was a super MadTV fan growing up and I wish they would have kept her on the show longer. I also appreciated the chapter on her setbacks and how she didn’t always get the role or the part. Sometimes it was from her own decision like the time, she passed on Pitch Perfect because she didn’t feel like it would line up with her Christian values and then the movie turned out not to be too raunchy. She had to live with her regrets or passing on that one. She revealed how this taught her to keep moving forward and she hopes this will inspire others to keep dreaming and be themselves.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.”
July 13, 2024
There were sweet pictures and some funny tidbits. However, it was still just an okay story.
The story was haphazardly written; sometimes chronological and other times by topic. One whole chapter is about loving her dog. It seemed like a filler.
The title is a good question. Johnson seems to never be sure of the answer. For example:
She repeatedly states that her parents and herself were born in San Jose California. So, why does she then repeatedly say she is Mexican?
She says she loves Jesus but then describes her worship of Mother Earth. I can understand worshiping the Creator but I don��t understand worshipping the created.
She decides to start cussing and drinking alcohol because she thinks it makes her more fun and her friends will like her more.
Is she following Christ or just being “Crish”?
I just couldn’t tell.
Perhaps the whole book was just an attempt to justify herself while she tried to figure out her own answer to the question.
The story was haphazardly written; sometimes chronological and other times by topic. One whole chapter is about loving her dog. It seemed like a filler.
The title is a good question. Johnson seems to never be sure of the answer. For example:
She repeatedly states that her parents and herself were born in San Jose California. So, why does she then repeatedly say she is Mexican?
She says she loves Jesus but then describes her worship of Mother Earth. I can understand worshiping the Creator but I don��t understand worshipping the created.
She decides to start cussing and drinking alcohol because she thinks it makes her more fun and her friends will like her more.
Is she following Christ or just being “Crish”?
I just couldn’t tell.
Perhaps the whole book was just an attempt to justify herself while she tried to figure out her own answer to the question.
March 20, 2024
Her comedy brought me to this book, and that comedic nature came out in the writing and narration. Anjelah Johnson-Reyes exudes humility in telling her life story thus far. The book is heavy on her Christian values, which is simply a part of who she is. It covers parts of her childhood and teenage years, her various jobs before being a full-time comedian, and her journey in that field through the initially chosen sabbatical during 2020. Her reflection on failures and successes and relationships could be relatable for anyone.
May 29, 2024
I absolutely love Anjelah - she’s hilarious and super cool. This was an immediate 5 star for me.
I listened to this on audio and I’m SO glad I did - she was EXCELLENT. It was basically a performance and I’m here for it. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
It was awesome to learn more about how she started, her life, her career, and lessons she learned. The evolution of her faith was interesting, too. It made me laugh, contemplate, and I learned some things, too.
I absolutely loved this book! Well done!
I listened to this on audio and I’m SO glad I did - she was EXCELLENT. It was basically a performance and I’m here for it. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
It was awesome to learn more about how she started, her life, her career, and lessons she learned. The evolution of her faith was interesting, too. It made me laugh, contemplate, and I learned some things, too.
I absolutely loved this book! Well done!
November 25, 2022
I loved listening to this. I felt like we have similar parallels so I really felt and understood what she went through throughout her life.
Little sad to see the reviews about her talking about her faith and people not liking it because of that, but that’s who she has always been, and I for one enjoyed her journey and listening to it.
Little sad to see the reviews about her talking about her faith and people not liking it because of that, but that’s who she has always been, and I for one enjoyed her journey and listening to it.
January 25, 2023
Been a fan of Anjelah’s for quite some time now, and this book just made me love her more!
Laughing start to finish, and I appreciate her honesty and ability to be vulnerable as she shared her stories, particularly when she discussed her family.
Definitely the kind of book that should be listened to through the audiobook version, because you won’t regret it!
Laughing start to finish, and I appreciate her honesty and ability to be vulnerable as she shared her stories, particularly when she discussed her family.
Definitely the kind of book that should be listened to through the audiobook version, because you won’t regret it!
January 28, 2025
I was an Anjelah fan before this book, but now I love her even more!! She is hilarious, I loved all the jokes she shared and I loved listening to her faith journey: how she has wrestled with God and questioned a lot of conservative beliefs she grew up with. I could relate to so much of her experiences with ethnicity too. If you’re looking for a great laugh and depth too, this is a good one!
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