Hello, Friends!: Stories of Dating, Destiny, and Day Jobs

Daily Show correspondent Sloan debuts with a collection of brash and funny reflections on finding comedy success and the personal and professional hurdles she overcame on the way there. Among other topics, Sloan’s chatty essays dive into her experiences dating a string of men nicknamed the Mechanic, UPS guy, and the Dummy before she pledged “No more broke dick!” as her 2022 New Year’s resolution on live TV, and her winding career history, which involved working for “henchmen” at a used car lot and selling stucco before winning NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity competition in 2015. There are also meditations on self-love, therapy, and growing up Black in predominantly white schools. While Sloan’s digressive approach lends the collection an appealingly informal style, she tends to bounce around chronologically without pulling things together for a meaningful takeaway. For example, an essay about her experiences at a high school summer theater program ends with a less than satisfying declaration of her “destiny” to “spill (and share) the tea,” while a piece on self-love is sprinkled with encouragements for readers to go vote. Sloan shines most with witty and starkly honest insights about her professional development, including how she’s “trying to figure out” her next moves in therapy, and what it’s like to find herself waiting for her “dream man” while her career is “booming.” Those eager for a no-holds-barred glimpse of the reality of making it in the entertainment world will be happy they picked this up. (Feb.)