Rabbit audiobook

“Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” – Maya Angelou This is the epigraph for Rabbit, and it seems particularly germane. Of course, unspoken is the damage life does to you before you learn how to fight back. Rabbit is the nickname Patricia Williams was given as a kid, after she was seen sitting on a porch eating a carrot. The porch in question, where she lived, at her grandfather’s house/24-7-bar/distillery, was not long for this world. When a woman he was paying to have sex with his disabled son insulted him, Gramps shot her. Buh-bye residence, any form of stability, and affection of a non-toxic sort from an adult family member. It goes downhill from there.Ms. Pat - image from the Washington Post – by Chris Bergin To the extent that Williams had a childhood at all, it was one Thomas Hobbes described for people bereft of society and laws, …poor, nasty, brutish, and short. She was subjected to serial sexual abuse as a pre-teen, became pregnant at thirteen, and had her second child when she was fifteen, the baby daddy a feckless, twenty-something married man who thought nothing of routinely having sex with a child. Her mother, Mildred, was an alcoholic, who offered Rabbit no affection at all. She was a woman who used a handgun to enforce her wishes at home. She was delusional, and violent, driving away the one good man who was interested in her and her kids. She managed to stay in a relationship with another man who brought the family groceries, allowing him to regularly abuse her young daughters. She enlisted her children to commit crimes. Left to her own devices at 15, when her crack-selling baby daddy (of both her children) got pinched, leaving her with no money coming in, Rabbit did what she needed to do to put food on the table, sold crack on street corners. And she made a living at that, well, until she got arrested and spent some quality time in Fulton County Jail.This is, I’ll bet, a life very unlike yours or mine. And one must wonder if, faced with the challenges of her upbringing, the barriers, some self-erected, how we might have fared. Would we have managed to make a respectable life for ourselves? Would we have made the many bad choices Williams made, as a kid forced to function as an adult? Today, Patricia Williams, under the professional stage name Ms. Pat, is a successful forty-something stand-up comedian, with a TV series, featuring her life, in development. She has raised four of her own children and plenty more whom relatives had been unable to bring up on their own. Rabbit - image from WNYC.ORGWhat allowed her to break out while so many others remain mired in a toxic culture, many in her own family? One could say that it is making a decision and sticking to it. But many others have made such decisions, and not found the wherewithal. Is it a matter of dumb luck to run into the person who will stand by you, just when you are open to it? Some inner strength? Divine intercession? Dunno. But clearly all the above contributed. William’s tale is both a chilling and uplifting story, with considerable detail on the depravities of ghetto life, but also on the potential for hope and for goodness when caring people step in to help make things right. At the end of the book she makes a point of noting the people who came to her aid throughout her life, referring to them as “Angels.” Her stories of their impact on her are beautifully told, and incredibly moving. If her story of a remedial teacher who encourages her when others had turned a blind eye to her illiteracy, a teacher who goes incredibly beyond simple teaching to seeing Rabbit for who she is and taking concrete simple steps to nurture her, does not bring you to tears, there is something wrong with your ducts. She found similar nurturing in warm, perceptive social workers, and most of all, in the man she met, and would marry. They don’t make ‘em any better than him. Williams’s facility with language is considerable. She had a gift for defensive and offensive verbal blasting that served her well in her native environment. You do not want her sizing you up for some straight up put downs. It would hurt. That comes across in the book, but much more so in her performances. (see links below) Doing Stand-up at Morty’s Joint in Indianapolis - image from WBUR.ORG – photo by Chris Begin if the Washington PostWhen she was a kid growing up in an Atlanta ghetto, Williams had a dream of a better life. Inspired by the TV show, she imagined having a Leave It To Beaver existence, a calm, suburban, private home, with a yard, plenty of space, and no gunfire on the street or drug dealing on the corner. She never stopped trying for that, and ultimately saw the dream become a reality. Her life there will be the basis for her show.I have included in EXTRA STUFF some links to interviews with and performances by Ms. Pat. I strongly urge you to dip in. The book totally captures her actual voice.While some will point out that Williams contributed to some dark days in American history with her involvement with drug-dealing, among other crimes, it is worth bearing in mind the context in which those behaviors arose, how old she was, and what guidance she had, or didn’t have as a child. Also, that she served time for her activities, and has made a very successful effort to turn her life around. In addition, she has paid forward the love that was given her by raising a slew of children not her own, keeping many of them from repeating the family pattern of adolescent pregnancy, drug abuse, and public dependence. She has made a life out of what could easily have been, and has been for many, a dumpster fire. Patricia Williams has taken life on, been tough and resourceful, determined and loving. Her book is a remarkable achievement that follows Maya Angelou’s advice. Rabbit kicks ass.Review posted – August 24, 2018Publication date -----hardcover - August 22, 2017-----paperback – May 22, 2018=============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pagesItems of interest-----NY Times - Q. and A. - Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: Patricia Williams Goes From Crime to Comedy - Auguse 20, 2017 - by John Williams ----- How Ms. Pat overcame drugs, prison and abuse — and rose to comedy stardom - March 8, 2018 - by Geoff Edgers -----Video - Stand Up Comedy - Live Gotham Comedy Club – hosted by Gabe Kaplan -----Audio – Here is Ms. Pat’s appearance on Mark Maron’s WTF Podcast - from around 10:00There are many clips to be found in the usual places

Audiobook...read by the author, Patricia WilliamsA true story that’s sad with a happy ending by a terrific natural storyteller! Some specific details...Patricia shares are so phenomenal and so inspiring...that to not feel at least a little empowered ourselves in our own lives would be a missed opportunity. It’s sooooo True... we are never too old to make a major life change!!!Excellent Audiobook! Thank you Erin! I’m lacking sleep - but once I read your review yesterday, and got a copy myself.... started it...this Audiobook & I were connected at the hip non- stop!!!

The best book I’ve read in 2018. Honest, hilarious, vulnerable & tragic. Absolutely beautiful. My full review will be up on my booktube channel at http://Youtube.com/peterlikesbooks

This is a great "as-told-to" autobiography by a woman who lived a horrific childhood and led a very dysfunctional lifestyle in Atlanta during the 1980s until she met her significant other who influenced her to change. This young lady became a prominent stand-up comic and her story is motivational for anyone looking to transcend their circumstances. This book is poignant as well as humorous and I read many parts with my mouth wide open in shock. However despite the abusive, callous mother, the absent baby-daddies and burgeoning crack epidemic, the "heroine" found stability and happiness.In fact, the prologue finds her reminiscing from her suburban Indiana home overlooking an idyllic duck pond.

How do you "review" the story of someone's life? Unlike some memoirs, this is not full of whiny "pity me" diatribes even though the life she lived is full of moments no one should have to experience. She tells her story in a straight-forward way, managing to inject a touch of humor in places where it would be impossible for most to find anything funny. She owns her life, from the moments inflicted upon her to the choices she made for herself. This is not an easy book to read, but once you start, it is impossible to put down. This was polished off within 24 hours.

I'll admit I did not know anything about Patricia Williams prior to reading this book. However, some of the best memoirs I have read have come from people I was not familiar with beforehand, and I definitely place this book in that category. Her life is full of heartbreaking moments, but yet it still manages to be an uplifting story. She is a perfect example of someone who is a "doer", a person who just knows how to get things done, no matter how many obstacles are in her way. Yes, she might have had a little help along the way, but she deserves all the credit in the world for overcoming really crappy odds. Pat grew up in Atlanta, one of five children. Her single mother did very little to provide for her family other than stealing and getting donations from just about every church in the area. By the age of fifteen, Pat was a single mother of two. With not many options available to support herself and children, she hustled to get by. But a life of crime usually comes with consequences. When you hit the bottom you can either stay there, or fight your way to the top.There were two things in the book that just really stood out to me and I won't soon forget. The first was Pat's mom told her white people were better than her. I mean how does that not affect the self-esteem of a child? How would that not crush your hopes and dreams that you could achieve anything you want in life? The other moment was when Pat was told she deserved better than her abusive boyfriend. She said other people told her he was scum, but it wasn't until someone told her she didn't deserve it, that it really sunk in. It just really blew my mind that essentially people were telling her the same thing all along, but it was the specific wording that made her finally understand. It really goes to show that if you know someone in an abusive relationship, don't ever stop telling them that they are worth something until they finally believe in themselves.The only reason this wasn't a five star read for me is I thought sometimes certain things were glossed over. For example, a pretty big part of the story talks about her difficulty in finding a job and keeping it. But yet it doesn't really get into how she got the job where her husband works. There were a few times in the book that I wished there were more details. Overall though, this is definitely a compelling read and I recommend it to anyone who loves reading about people who overcome difficult odds.I won a free ebook from Bookshout and the publisher. I was under no obligation to post a review and all views expressed are my honest opinion.

All the stars for this memoir. I think there are times that we believe we must be so different from other people based on how we grew up. There are very talented people in this world that can make us see our similarities. The beautiful similarities and the low down dirty similarities. Patricia Williams is one of those people.She grew up in Atlanta during the crack epidemic. Although, the people that should have had her best interests at heart, did not...she had others who did. Those who saw how wonderful Rabbit was and helped shaped her into Ms. Pat. How she overcame and paid it forward. A wonderful memoir of redemption through pain...and I think we can all relate so well to that.I highly recommend this read!!

I kept seeing this book on my Goodreads timeline. Since the people I follow on Goodreads have excellent taste in books, I decided to read this one, and it did not disappoint. To read the rest of this review and to see an interview featuring Ms. Pat on 98 Rock Baltimore CLICK HERE.

Great readLast week on my way to work I caught Ms. Pat on the Rickey Smiley show. I was laughing my butt off. I went and purchased the book on my kindle the same day. And I laughed and cried. And for her to make a living out of telling her story. Is something I wanted to contribute to. Hope to see and hear more from Ms. Pat in the future. 👏👏

This is going on my favorites list as the best of 2017. I laughed and I cried. I cried a lot of tears of joy and pain for this author’s story. One good thing about Ms. Pat is that she really does know how to make me laugh. She grew up in the heart of the crack epidemic of the 1980’s in Atlanta and I learned much much more from this book than was on the news. She has heart and courage and I applaud her honesty while expressing her feelings and showing the readers how vulnerable little Black girls and grown Black women are in this world. I will carry her story in my mind and heart for quite some time.

Honestly I’d never heard of Ms. Pat before today. Briefly mentioned in Nobody’s Victim by Carrie Goldberg, I came to engage in this journey and damn, was it a roller coaster ride! At the last page, I was legit speechless. Definite TW: child abuse, molestation, sexual assault, domestic violence, drug abuse, drug dealing.. every damn bad thing you could think of.. You know — real talks, Patricia Williams is an amazing storyteller. She brings you so deep, telling a story too familiar for young black girls growing up in the hood. Definitely not all young black girls growing up in these conditions have the same story but each detail she described rings bells for so many women I know raised in similar conditions. I think the fact that “Rabbit” aka Ms. Pat aka Patricia Williams pointed out the fact that no one ever really cared/or cares about the conditions that young black girls grow up in, is a fact that can never be overstated or overlooked. It’s a powerful statement that highlights a truth about how abuse gets perpetuated within our community.This book is heavy and it’s hard but it’s not all doom and gloom, it’s inspirational in the sense that learning better and trying to do better is not easy and hitting roadblocks and dealing with/navigating fucked up situations is hard, and making your own way out by any means is commendable. Hustling isn’t just about buying fancy shit, it’s about taking care of yourself and others and making your way through. She’s been through so much and she gives back so much. It’s just like a sister to stay giving on top of giving even when in the hardest, most trying, of times. Excluding her mom yo. This autobiography read kind of like The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah and I think there’s a reason those books are so popular — there’s something about survival stories that gets everyone on a level. On a flip side, I would say that this story is just as good as Tara Westover’s book, Educated. Widely released, a story about overcoming extreme hardship. Widely acclaimed. Excellent writing. Those are just some random comparisons that came to mind, but there are lots of similarities. Finally, Patricia’s storytelling uses honesty combined with wit to create images that are tragic but hilarious. Moments that can only be described as, you have to laugh or you'll cry at the insanity. The beautiful thing is how far she's come. The ability to look back and detail these experiences so that many a young black girl sees that they are not alone and that they can overcome and that they’re not stupid or responsible for the hand they were dealt by life is a powerful affirmation to your community and it’s deserving of the highest respect. There is a beauty in truth that’s spoken in a no bullshit way and Ms. Pat delivered that in spades here. This book is a must read.

This was an amazingly powerful read and one that I will not forget anytime soon. In this memoir, we meet Patricia "Rabbit" Williams who grew up living in poverty. She gets pregnant while in middle school and has to deal with a mother with substance abuse issues, a cheating boyfriend as well as some rather unsavory jobs including dealing crack. The most remarkable part of this story is that it is both tragically sad but written in a hysterical manner as well. The author never once asks you to feel pity for her but instead to listen to her story. It is certainly a cautionary yet illuminating tale, one of which many people who I know, including myself would know nothing about. This book reminds me of "The Glass Castle" in terms of shock value and memorability.

** spoiler alert ** This audible book was such a welcome change from the books and readers I'm used to. Honestly, the readers are all sounding the same to me anymore. Ms. Pat had a young life that would be hard to overcome but with the help of teachers and others, all of whom she credits, she did it. Pregnant at 13. Selling drugs to support her two babies at 15. Shot, jailed, meeting obstacles at every turn, she is now a comedian making a living by seeing humor in the hard parts of life. Now that I've finished the book, I miss her.