Behind the Laughter: A Comedian’s Tale of Tragedy and Hope.

Comedian Griffith and his wife Travis-Griffin give readers a glimpse of the difficulties they endured after the death of their two-year-old daughter, Brittany, in this poignant memoir. Griffith moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to pursue comedy, and his wife and daughter stayed behind in Chicago. As Griffith’s career slowly picked up steam, his daughter began exhibiting signs of Down syndrome. Then, just after Griffith achieved a childhood dream by performing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Brittany was diagnosed with leukemia. As Brittany’s condition quickly worsened, the two lived between L.A. and Chicago as Griffith felt he had to seize his moment of notoriety, but his jokes became increasingly dark as he questioned his faith in God and contemplated why this was happening to him. In alternating sections, Travis-Griffin explains how she began to feel increasingly alone and unappreciated as Griffith doggedly concentrated on his goal of moving the family to L.A. and his next appearance on The Tonight Show. After Brittany’s death a few months after her diagnosis, Griffith and Travis-Griffin’s marriage suffered as both reeled from regrets and pent up frustrations. However, a moment of catharsis came when Griffith shared Brittany’s story on the Moth Radio Hour in 2003 in a confessional performance that helped to heal much of the lingering pain. This powerful, intimate story pulls back the curtains on one marriage’s profound loss. (Apr.)