Behind the Laughter, Anthony Griffith
Behind the Laughter, Anthony Griffith
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Behind the Laughter
A Comedian’s Tale of Tragedy and Hope

Author: Anthony Griffith, Dr. Brigitte Travis-Griffin, Mark Caro

Narrator: Avery Waddell, Paula Parker

Unabridged: 7 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 04/09/2019


Synopsis

How do you keep going when your world is falling apart? Discover the powerful story of stand-up comic Anthony Griffith and how to navigate grief through persistence, faith, humor and love. Just as Anthony’s career in stand-up comedy launched him onto the stage of The Tonight Show, he and his wife Brigitte faced an unimaginable personal nightmare: their two-year-old daughter, Brittany Nicole, was dying from cancer. While Anthony performed under bright lights, he struggled not to succumb to the darkness of losing a child.In this stirring memoir, Anthony Griffith and his wife of more than thirty years, Brigitte Travis-Griffin, share the powerful story of living between life’s funniest moments and its most heartbreaking tragedies.With humor and deep insights into the human spirit, Behind the Laughter explores Anthony’s life and career as well as the bonds between parent and child and husband and wife. The surprising twists along Anthony’s path highlights experiencing God’s sustaining presence in the darkest moments as well as the sweetest dreams.Behind the Laughter explores:Powerful, relatable emotions and lessons that are universal and inspiringNew perspectives on difficult topics that everyone can relate toThe power of finding humor in spite of adversityFind true inspiration along with laugh-out-loud humor in this remarkable story of resilience and grace in the face of loss.

About Anthony Griffith

Anthony Griffith, a successful stand-up comedian for more than thirty years, made his way from Chicago’s South Side to the city’s comedy clubs and out to Los Angeles, where he performed multiple times on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and later with Jay Leno. He has been featured in specials for Comedy Central, HBO, and Showtime and on The Arsenio Hall Show. Also an actor, Griffith has appeared in several movies, including Panther, Tales from the Hood, and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and received a Daytime Emmy for his performance in the TV movie Our Father. Griffith also performed in the TV series Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Bernie Mac Show.

About Dr. Brigitte Travis-Griffin

Dr. Brigitte Travis-Griffin is a clinical psychologist specializing in a concierge delivery system of therapy for entertainment and creative professionals. She and Anthony Griffith have been married for more than thirty years. Brigitte received her PsyD from the California School of Professional Psychology and her BS from UCLA.

About Mark Caro

Mark Caro is the award-winning author of The Foie Gras Wars and Take It to the Bridge: Unlocking the Great Songs Inside You. For more than twenty-five years, he covered entertainment, food, and culture for the Chicago Tribune. He continues to contribute to the New York Times, Chicago magazine, and other publications.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nicole

This memoir was perfect for me. It struck an impressive balance between funny and tragic, masculine and feminine, aspirational and relatable, sacred and profane. Cowritten with his wife, this memoir is from a 1990's-era stand-up comedian and actor who juggled some very sad circumstances in his perso......more

Goodreads review by James

This book was deeply personal for me. My wife and I met Anthony on an Alaskan cruise celebrating my 50th birthday (17 years ago at this writing). My wife’s Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was progressing and she was confined to a wheelchair to get around. Anthony’s MS was evident and he talked about it onst......more

Goodreads review by Ellen

I was given a review copy in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own. I love this book. When I saw the title and name, I immediately thought, I liked Andy Griffith as Opie’s Dad on The Andy Griffith Show. When I got the book, I realized I had the wrong guy. Anthony Griffith is also a com......more

Goodreads review by James

This is a solid memoir and it benefits from having the voice of both Griffith and his wife recount their experiences as he rose to fame and as they dealt with the illness of their daughter. The experiences of starting to have opportunities but also encountering loss that sours some of those experien......more