Born a crime

When I saw this book in the book store, I assumed it could not be that interesting. Lots of people have 1 white parent and 1 black parent. Lots of people are from South Africa. Since Trevor Noah hosts the Daily Show, I assumed he came from a privileged background because how else could he be here now? His father was probably a diplomat.

Sometimes, I am amazed about how much I don't know about anything.

Trevor Noah's story is really incredible. He was born in South Africa during apartheid. His parents were not married because they could not legally marry. His mother had to hide him from the police for the first few years of his life until it was no longer illegal for a black and white person to have a child. He grew up in Sowetto. His mother raised him and she has to be one of the most dedicated and incredible parents I have ever met by memoir. She was really clear about her values. They spent A LOT of time in church and she really didn't care what Trevor thought about that. His life was so filled with obstacles and hardship, it's just a miracle that he ever arrived here.

But, I finally understood why he was chosen to take over Jon Stewart's position at the Daily Show. No one could really fill Stewart's shoes. Noah is probably the only person on the planet with the resilience to do it. He could take his time to make the show his own because whatever he'd experience in the meantime was nothing compared to the challenges he faced growing up.

Incredible story.