Why Comedian Chonda Pierce Thinks She’s Funnier Than She’s Ever Been
By Movieguide® Contributor
After spending decades in the entertainment industry telling her story, comedian Chonda Pierce is now pulling back the curtain on difficult parts of life to help audiences understand that life will always have lows that accompany the highs.
“I didn’t want to close this down without having it all said. I have made a living telling my story and my testimony, my father’s indiscretions and his mental illness, and all of that, and yet I didn’t really talk about the adverse effect of that,” Pierce told Keep the Faith’s David Sams. “I talk about the healing power of Jesus, which is still the same, but the truth of the matter is you can’t walk some of these difficult roads without it having a good effect and a bad effect on you.”
“For every pinnacle of success and mountain high, there is that walk back down, and for every low and devastation and death — I’ve experienced death of every kind, you know, I am a surviving member of my family; I have a brother as well — but for every, you know, bottom, [there’s] that journey back up,” she added.
“It’s in the between of those ups and downs that you learn so much, and most of that I learned pretty well, and I wanted to share that journey with someone coming along behind me, and then some of it I didn’t do well, and I wanted to be honest about that,” Pierce continued.
While she has begun to share these harder stories during her comedy sets, Pierce has also recorded them in her newest book, Life is Funny Until It’s Not. The vulnerable way that she shares her story — and the hope in Christ she has found in the darkest of places — has connected with millions, landing it atop multiple categories on Amazon for months after its release.
Her ability to share these stories in a hopeful way, rather than with bitterness, is a testament to years of work on Pierce’s end to find peace and to identify the way Christ uses all things in life for His glory.
“I remember stories that I used to tell and I know where my heart was, but when healing comes along — I will say, I think I’m funnier than I’ve ever been because I’ve had such healing time and I don’t need some of the stories I used to tell to get back, you know, or take a jab; even a jab at God…” she explained. “Now I have a better hope at the end of the story.”
One of the stories from her life that has been most redeemed is her view of her father. He suffered from severe bipolar disorder, and some days he was the best father, and some days he was the worst. This back and forth confused Pierce for years, not knowing whether she loved him or hated him.
“The sweetest thing was to find out that he was divine. That only my heavenly Father is [divine]. That really let my earthly father off the hook, not that it made what he did right or it didn’t make it okay, it was still some work to get through those issues but to know that my heavenly Father is perfection, oh man.”
Pierce’s journey — both the good and the bad — is available now in her new book, Life is Funny Until It’s Not.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Comedian Chonda Pierce says her “foundation of faith” and love of laughter have seen her through hard times.
“King Solomon says laughter is good like a medicine, and the sound of it has been a healing thing for me, even though I’m the one dispensing the words to make people laugh,” the comedian said during an appearance on THE 700 CLUB. “I think we who have gone through tragedies are also drawn to that lighter side of life, and so there are a lot of comedians who start making a living in comedy when they’ve come from so much deep, dark stuff.”
Pierce said that there is “no explanation” for how she has gotten this far without God’s hand in her life, adding, “There’s got to be a way to get through things you never dreamed you could get through, and that is only the divine.”
She also emphasized the importance of having a strong faith to lean on during times of struggle.
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