Laugh It Up!: Embrace Freedom and Experience Defiant Joy

by Candace Payne

Overview

This ebook includes the full text of the book PLUS exclusive photos, insider stories, and practical inspiration from Candace—only found in the ebook!

The world knows Candace Payne as "Chewbacca Mom," whose Facebook video captured the hearts of millions with nothing but a toy Chewbacca mask and infectious laughter.But what the video doesn't show is Candace's storied journey of overcoming daunting obstacles on the way to a joy-filled life.

Laugh It Up! tells the rest of the story behind the woman in the mask. Like many, Candace Payne has often felt overlooked, undervalued, and insignificant. But she has also discovered the secrets to unshakable joy that no circumstance--be it extreme poverty, past trauma, or struggles with self-worth--can take away, and Laugh It Up! will help you discover and experience the same.

Join Candace to discover the gift God has given us all--to experience life to the fullest. All you need to do is answer "yes" when joy calls you to come and play.

• Do you feel tempted to give up on your dreams? Joy stays the course.
• Do your knees knock when thinking about the future? Joy hopes for what can be.
• Do you feel unseen and unnoticed? Joy is content whether backstage or center stage.
• Do you feel crushed under the weight of regret? Joy loves you enough to weep with you, but also help you move on.

When life punches you in the gut, it can be difficult to muster a smile--much less a laugh. But with humor and power, wit and wisdom, Candace lights the way forward to a life that is free indeed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310351672
Publisher:	HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Publication date:	12/19/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	203
Sales rank:	851,070
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Candace Payne is an author, speaker, podcast host, and a viral sensation whose Facebook Live video is trying on a Chewbacca Mask became the most-viewed Facebook Live video to date (176+ million views). She has been featured in more than 3,000 media outlets and has interviewed with major media such as “Good Morning America.” The Late Late Show James Corden,” The New York Times, PEOPLE, and Cosmopolitan.  Candace’s greatest joy is sharing life with her husband, two children, and ornery pugs in the great state of Texas. Connect with Candace online at www.CandacePayne.me

Table of Contents

Prologue: Behind the Mask 13

Chapter 1 Finding the Happy in Homeless 21

Chapter 2 Don't Quit Your Daydream 33

Chapter 3 Uh-oh, Joy Has a Frenemy 43

Chapter 4 When God Plays Matchmaker 59

Chapter 5 Saying Never, Meaning Always 75

Chapter 6 From What If to Why Not 99

Chapter 7 Backstage, Center Stage, or Whatevs 121

Chapter 8 Quit Should-ing Yourself 139

Chapter 9 A Boy, His Joy, & Buzz Lightyear 159

Chapter 10 Later, Hater 177

Epilogue: You're Full of It 191

A Note from Candace's Pastor 197

Acknowledgments 201

Editorial Reviews

11/06/2017
Payne, better known as the Chewbacca Mom, shares how she learned to experience joy in this inspiring memoir. Payne shot to international fame almost overnight in May 2016 after posting a video of herself laughing uncontrollably in a Chewbacca mask, but the unfettered happiness captured in the video was, she writes, a long time coming. She grew up poor, was sexually assaulted as a teenager, attempted suicide, has struggled to remain committed to her marriage, and has battled with health and body image issues. But rather than be dragged down by her traumas, she says she has chosen to embrace joy as a daily choice. Joy, she writes, evicts shame and always tells the truth. “Shame is a big, nasty, bully, y’all,” she writes following a disastrous sexual experience in college. “In a rare moment of clarity I knew I needed to release it’s grip over my thoughts and actions, but had no clue how.” Payne then returns to the teachings of her upbringing and gradually comes back to Jesus Christ. But while Payne is open about her past troubles and discovery of joy in religion, the book feels improbably light, with facts relayed but little insight offered. Those who laughed along with Payne in her video will enjoy getting to know more about her. . (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

If you think Candace Payne is nothing more than a viral video, you are sorely mistaken. I recently spent time listening to her life's story and was stunned by the unspeakable pain she has endured and the breathtaking triumphs she has experienced. Candace Payne is more than a mask, and I'm confident that her new book will cement her as a go-to inspirational voice for years to come.

contributing writer for The Atlantic; author of Le Jonathan Merritt

I'm so fortunate to have gotten to know the real woman 'behind the mask' after her hilarious video took the internet by storm and reminded us all to LAUGH with abandon! Candace has a lot to teach the world about living joyfully, laughing loudly, and cherishing the small things that make life worth living!

Emmy Award-winning actress and producer Patricia Heaton

Thanks to a viral Facebook video, the world got to see a glimpse of the joy and spirit of Candace Payne. I've been fortunate to know and feel that joy and spirit in person both before and after the video took over the internet. There's more to Candace than one video. Candace has a gift. A gift for living her life with a smile on her face and a shine in her heart. Laugh It Up! will give readers an insight into that smile and shine and hopefully help even more people find joy in everything they do in life. And real and true joy is the most infectious and viral thing on the planet. Let's spread it together.

country music artist and songwriter Barrett Baber

Candace truly does have the gift of spreading joy, and that is something that the world needs more of at this time. I'm happy she's using her platform to make people smile. This book will open people's eyes to see joy in their own life. It makes me proud to be her friend.

Sadie Robertson

Candace is more than just a joyful person; she is a JOY-FILLED person who has a passion to make the world a better place. Laugh It Up! will remind you to find joy in the small moments and guide you on your way to become someone who experiences 'defiant joy' and hope each day.

Hal Donaldson

On May 21, 2016, I posted this on my Facebook page: 'Have y'all seen this video of a lady finding such joy in her newly purchased Chewbacca mask? I'm willing to bet she's a believer. That kind of joy comes from a much deeper place.' What's interesting about the spring of 2016 is that I was in a deep depression when I came across that viral video. Looking back on it now, I know that the joy I saw in Candace flooded Light into my pit of despair and beckoned my spirit to rise out of the dark. As you read Candace Payne's story, you will see why she is able to find joy in the simple things. I know firsthand the power of joy in the midst of pain. That is why I believe that God has spread Candace's contagious, Light-shining spirit for the world to see at such a time as this.

Contemporary Christian recording artist Mandisa

Don't be fooled: Candace Payne is more than a laughing Chewbacca mask, and this book is more than stories to make you giggle. These profoundly rich and vulnerable pages are an invitation to drink deeply from the well of joy. Even in the lean seasons, Candace reminds readers, Joy is beckoning us out to play. These are words for the weary, the hopeless, the dreamers, the fighters, and everyone in between. Laugh It Up! is an invitation to come back home and embrace our birthright—joy. You will laugh, cry, and remember the long-forgotten gift of playfulness as you journey through these pages and find yourself coming home to hope. This book is a rare, life-giving gift for the soul.

Jenny Simmons