It is a miracle that Hoffmeister’s This is the Part Where You Laugh contains comedy and hope because otherwise, I would have to stop reading this book and take a moment to cry, which I did that anyway.

     Peter Brown Hoffmeister is a published author whose works are featured in the New York Times and GoodReads. He makes readers laugh with his latest story as the journal of Travis Scott and plans to have a productive summer break: practicing basketball with his best friend, Malik, and reading excerpts from his novel-in-progress: The Pervert’s Guide to Russian Princesses.

Travis is haunted by his mother’s addiction and his grandmother’s cancer yet these struggles motivate his goals for the summer. He begins saving up money to prepare for when he finds his mother and releasing caimans in his neighborhood to give his grandmother a story to hear. When Malik faces a dangerous injury, Travis struggles to find the laughter that once ran rampant on the courts.

This is the Part Where You Laugh describes the importance of an ability to find joy, especially in situations that we cannot control: “This is the part where you laugh. You just have to. When things are so shitty that there’s nothing you can do, there’s no other way to react.”

Recovery is a work of progress and having people in your life who matter by your side makes the journey worthwhile. Drug addiction is not to be scoffed act, Hoffmeister describes how Travis is affected by drugs in the system of someone else rather than him. His mother was an addict and her addiction led Travis to live with his grandparents, and when Travis needed his grandfather to drive, he under the influence.

     The most important thing a reader should take from this book is the decision to continue bettering yourself, growing, and striving to fulfill your purpose with passion.

    “Things get messed up… I say, ‘I don’t know how to feel about any of that. That’s okay. Who cares? But you should camp out tonight no matter what, and I’ll camp with you. It’ll be a different 100. I’ll help you start again… I close my eyes. I don’t want to cry again. I’ve cried so much in the last week, and suddenly I feel like I could start again.”

     In a world of constant change and never-ending stress/pressure, this book is supposed to remind the readers that all conflicts are temporary and that joy can find its way back into your lives.