Behind the Laughter

A Comedian’s Tale of Tragedy and Hope

By: Anthony Griffith, Brigitte Travis-Griffin, Mark Caro

Narrated by: Avery Waddell, Paula Parker

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 inspiring
• New perspectives on difficult topics that everyone can relate to
• The power of finding humor in spite of adversity

Find true inspiration along with laugh-out-loud humor in this remarkable story of resilience and grace in the face of loss.

inspiring

it's a great listen, but even better story of faith's journey! a great present for anyone on your list.

On Life's Funniest and Most Tragic Moments

I didn’t know who Anthony Griffith was until I heard his touching story on The Moth podcast. This memoir was mentioned during the program, and I found it on Audible. I’m glad I picked it up.

Though I cared for my late husband who was paralyzed by two strokes and not a child dying from cancer, I could relate to Anthony and Brigitte’s feelings. I like how Anthony talks about how he tried to keep a brave face, not telling anyone, not even his manager, about his daughter’s medical condition. The only time he ever broke down was when he told his story on The Moth. He mentions this later in the book, including the text of his monolog.

His other material is spread throughout the book. This adds a nice touch, and I found myself laughing a lot while listening. I found his accounts of life growing up in Chicago and his acting roles interesting and appreciated his references to God without being too preachy. I also enjoyed reading about Brigitte’s life.

This memoir, told from Anthony and Brigitte’s perspectives, has two narrators: a male reading Anthony’s part and a female reading Brigitte’s. Both narrators use authentic southern accents. Having heard Anthony’s voice on The Moth, I was amazed at how close the male’s voice was to Anthony’s. I also liked the female narrator’s portrayal of Brigitte.

These narrators do an excellent job of telling Anthony and Brigitte’s story. Even if you’ve never heard of Anthony Griffith, if you like a celebrity’s heartwarming story about resilience in the face of tragedy, Behind the Laughter is for you or anyone on your holiday gift list who enjoys such a story. Thank you for reading.

Inspiring and Uplifting

I have loved Anthony Griffith for years. I think you have to be very intelligent to be clean in humor and communication, so I have appreciated his talent and class. Learning about his background and life, along with that of his amazing wife, was very enjoyable, heartbreaking, and uplifting. I loved this book.

Excellent

With so many great audiobooks available, this one stands out. I laughed and I cried so hard, if anyone saw me they would think I was crazy. Be prepared for a life story so emotionally charged you will need to pause, but you won’t be able to put it down. Inspirational in ways most books like this fall short.

Thank you for sharing your story.

The was a great book. It really showed how God can use your pain for His glory. Again, thank you for sharing your story.