HarperCollins / Leslie Jordan’s “How Y’all Doing?”Two things become apparent as you read actor Leslie Jordan’s new book, “How Y’all Doing?” (HarperCollins, 198 pages, $27.)
First, it reads like a sequel to his 2008 autobiography, “My Trip Down the Pink Carpet.” In that book, Jordan talked about leaving Chattanooga to pursue his dream of a Hollywood career, the trials and triumphs of getting established in Tinseltown and the characters he met along the way. This book focuses more on the celebrities he has worked with since becoming a star and wisdom he has gained over the years.
He also explains how talking to a bevy of unknown followers to break up the tedium of last year’s COVID-19 quarantine led to a second career as a “a social-media maven” with a following of 5 million viewers worldwide.
“This book actually came from my Instagram posts, which I did twice a day. People would say ‘You should write a book.’ Then HarperCollins came to me to write a book, and I was able to take those stories and I wrote this book in two months. Elle Keck guided me from day one. She knew what she wanted, and she edited as we went along, which was a lot of fun.”
Second, although the book is billed as a collection of essays, they flow into one loving tribute to his mother, Peggy Jordan. Through his tales of hilarious memories, it becomes apparent that the actor wouldn’t be where he is today without her love, guidance and (at times) extreme patience handling his misadventures.