Heart warming. Insightful. Grounded. The Mac man had values that he honored and which is the cause to his success. He’s so authentic with his approach to comedy I’ve felt like I’ve known him as an uncle my whole life. I’m only 26 but reading this solidified why I was always drawn to Bernie Mac. His daughter TikTok is what inspired me to read his autobiography. I’m so glad that I did.

I'm beginning to realize that life is too short to read a book I'm just not interested in. I was listening to this via audiobook and it was read by Bernie Mac. He promotes an awesome message, especially to fellow young people: he had a rough background but he never let it direct his path; he set his sights on something greater and he worked to achieve it. Still, the reading style just didn't appeal to me. He writes like he talks -- and while that gives the yarn a strong sense of voice, it was a bit tedious. It wandered in parts and seemed disjointed, and I got tired of the "well" and "you know." I picked this up trying to find a book for a student - he LOVED biographies. He would probably enjoy this, so I'll keep it in mind, but it just wasn't for me. To be fair, I've restrained from rating it.

Very moving and satisfying for this type of book. If you want laughs read his other book.

I really liked this book! Told with humor, wisdom and humility that makes it easy to see that Bernie Mac was more than a great entertainer; he was a good person. Think I'm going to check Netflix for the Original Kings of Comedy or the Bernie Mac Show. Enjoy America!

A great memoir by the late Bernie Mac. He told about his life growing up in a poor but loving family and how it shaped him to never give up and become a successful comedian. I highly recommend this one. Lots of good advice and lessons in perseverance along with lots of humor.

Check it out

Any aspiring black comic needs to see this show its funny as well good information definitely tells the story of a man

It was a little hard to get into this book since it's written EXACTLY how Bernie Mac speaks. However, once you push past that you see it's a really great story of upliftment, dreaming big and goal setting. If you read this book and look at the language as a character (like with something like say, Their Eyes Were Watching God) you'll really get into this book.

Bernie is a man on fire with passion for his lifelong dream of comedy. He weaves in humour (obviously) to this book because it's really chock fool of loss and upset. I'm pushing towards goals of my own and this is a great book on staying focused and motivated no matter what.

Heartwarming story.

I am a big fan of the late Bernie Mac. I was going to say was, but his comedy will live on forever. This was a really good memoir of Bernie Mac's life, mostly before he made it. He got off to a late start, but I respect that he did what he had to do to take care of his family. Bernie went through a lot, but because of how he was raised and what his mother, grandmother and grandfather instilled in him and the fact that he fell back on their words instead of ignoring them, made him the man that he turned out to be. He never gave up on his dreams, even with all of the ghetto drama he went through. He lost his brother and mother, was evicted, fired, jailed, lost a close friend, struggling at jobs that barely made ends meet, but still kept that dream alive by doing what he had to do to make it happen. This was a very inspirational read.

I took one star off because it would have been great to know more about what happened with his nieces and nephew he took in. He joked a bit about it, which of course was hilarious, but this couldn't have been an easy adjustment for them. His TV show loosely based on this was great, but it's Hollywood and has to be entertaining. Even without this part, it is a must read for those who enjoy biographies.

I am a big Bernie Mac fan and this is a pleasure to listen to. Just Bernie, talking to his fans about how he got where he was. He gives nearly all the credit to his mother and Grandmother, who he calls the man in his life. He had a hard childhood, and lost his mother as a teen, "had to get married" right out of high school and worked many hard jobs, all while pursuing his destiny as a comedian. He is someone to really admire and I'm happy he saw so much success before he died so young. The recording is called abridged and it's very casual - sometimes the phone rings in the background!

I loved this book! Bernie Mac doesn't just discuss his life and his rise to stardom but he gives the readers very useful advice about building and maintaining your self-esteem and self-reliance which he credits his mother of drilling into his head growing up.

So sad that he was gone too soon at the age of 50.
I truly recommend everyone, fan or not, to read his story.

Brilliant memoir of Bernie Mac. His self-written life story explains his journey before and during his comedy career.