Title: The Life and Times of a Black Garage Door Guy
Author: V. Leigh
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-6641-3038-8
Pages: 110
Genre: Memoir
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent

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The Life and Times of a Black Garage Door Guy is a funny, risqué, and thoughtful peek into the life of a not-so-regular Joe. Author V. Leigh gives readers a look into the life of an everyday worker with unusual stories about his seemingly ordinary career.

The Life and Times of a Black Garage Door Guy is a series of unique situations Leigh encounters while on the job as a garage door repairman. He recounts a funny story about shapely blonde women that leads to an encounter that’s nothing like he expected.

Leigh also tells stories about he fights the racism of certain customers and the anger he felt as an African-American man. In contrast to those stories, he also tells heartwarming stories about how he helped homeless people and customers who fell on their luck. Leigh’s writing is funny and bracingly honest. While his writing is politically incorrect, he makes cogent points about race and class that are very timely. Leigh’s writing is relatable to many working-class readers who want to gain respect from their wealthier employers. He also writes so eloquently about the need for people to care about those that are less fortunate.

While this book has serious tones, Leigh also writes about humorous encounters with unusual customers while he was on the job. Leigh not only sheds life on his job, but also his life before he focused on garage door repair. His rough upbringing in a way led to his mixture of skepticism about America’s past, but optimism about the nation’s future. The Life and Times of a Black Garage Door Guy would be best for readers who like books that have collections of unique stories. Fans of comedians like Kevin Hart or political comedian Dick Gregory will appreciate Leigh’s biting wit. For readers who are fans of Studs Terkel’s non-fiction portraits of working-class people, this book will be a great companion to those books. This book would also be best for readers who want to learn more about the everyday life of workers.

The Life and Times of a Black Garage Door Guy is an insightful and funny story that will enlighten and entertain readers. Leigh takes readers on a journey through garage doors and into the world at large that they won’t soon forget.