Tremendous

by Joey "Coco" Diaz, Erica Florentine

New York Times Bestseller

Outsider. Misfit. Criminal. Convict. . . . Movie star. Family man. Comedy legend.

Joey Diaz has been called every name in the book (and then some). Now, for the first time, he shares the story of his unlikely rise to fame in his own words—with no punches pulled.

Today, he stars in hit films, headlines sold-out tours, hosts the popular Uncle Joey’s Joint podcast, and is a devoted father—but his life wasn’t always so picture-perfect. Joey “Coco” Diaz credits his success to his “immigrant mentality,” the work ethic his mother modeled for him and on which countless others have depended to survive the harsh landscape of being an outsider.

Diaz wasn’t always a star, but he was always a comedian—it just took him a while to figure it out. To be fair, he was pretty busy while he was young: helping his tough-as-nails mother in her bar, holding a gun for the first time at the age of six, and later dealing drugs and serving time.

Tremendous is the story of Diaz’s life, from grueling childhood and misspent youth to finding his true calling in comedy. Immigrants, fans of celebrity tales, and comedy enthusiasts alike will be enthralled by this incredibly true, foul-mouthed, and funny memoir.

It’s not a story for the faint of heart, or for prudes who’ve never spent a week sleeping in a piece of playground equipment. From finding his mom’s body to high stakes crime, addiction and depression, there are plenty of dark episodes in this saga. Diaz shares it all with brutal honesty and humor, in the same inimitable voice he’d use talking to you from the stage or in a bar. He also shares the story of his improbable rise to the top and the bumpy road that led him there.

An inspiration to misfits everywhere, Tremendous is storytelling at its finest—and a reminder that the direst of circumstances can change in unimaginable, unpredictable ways.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Comedy, Audiobook, Memoir, Autobiography, Humor

280 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2023

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

if your cool uncle told his life story via text message

[Zandt McCue · Rating 5 out of 5]

My coworker played a Joey Diaz routine on youtube the other day. It was a bit about having to retake a school year and then finding his Mother dead. I was mesmerized by it. I can't tell you when I first heard about Diaz. I'd probably seen either standup or other stuff he was in years ago. He's never been a go-to comedian for me. But after this youtube segment, when I saw he had written a book I knew I had to get it. He's one of those guys who tells stories that make you want to know more.

Joey Diaz is not your friendly comedian. Let me get that out of the way. You are not going to have something similar to, let's say for instance Iliza Shlesinger's book. Or god forbid you go into this thinking all comedians are like Ellen. If you do pick this up, you're probably already a Joey Diaz fan so you'll get the roughness right away. I knew he was a tough guy but didn't realize how much criminal activity he committed. And you know what, I don't even fault him.

I flew through this book. The way he tells stories, as I said above, makes you want to keep going. I never once felt bored. I will even admit that one moment in the book truly had me laugh out loud. It was the Matthew McConaughey and Ralphie May story.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a comedian's autobiography but make no mistake what you're in for: brutal, darkly funny, and at times heartbreaking stories that are impossible to put down. I plowed through the audiobook in nearly a single sitting.

Get the audiobook narrated by the man himself. You're in for a treat.

[Jake Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook.

This was phenomenal. I'm not a huge Joey Diaz fan. I've heard some of his standup. I've seen clips from podcasts. I saw him live once. I think he's funny, but his style of comedy is not for me.

But this book was a 10/10. He has had a wild life. Some stories were funny. Some were gutwrenching. Most of them were completely unbelievable. He's honest about his failed marriage, his cocaine addiction, his struggles with fatherhood, etc. I think that is my favorite part of this memoir - it's so raw.

His life as a kid in NYC in the 60s and 70s was fascinating. I learned more about the world of crime in NYC than I expected. And his experience as a Cuban immigrant was insightful.

I would not recommend reading this book; you should listen to it. The audiobook has to be better. The narrative style is very authentic. So, tons of profanity. I think reading it would be difficult for that reason. The number of curse words would legitimately be distracting. But hearing Joey narrate his life story was very powerful.

I enjoyed this one far more than I expected!

[Marcus H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joey's been through a lot and he finally wrote his story down!

[Marii]

This was a fun read I always recommend listening to memoirs like this that are narrator by the author because it sounds like you're just chatting with a friend or listening to a podcast.
If you're a fan of Joey obviously this is for you. He does an incredible job at weaving all theses stories together in a flawless way while also never letting you lose sight of the purpose of each story. Each part depicted of Joey's life has a clean beginning middle and end with a over arching message. I do wish we got more closure on a few things but this is obviously some ones life not a work of fiction and its bound to have a few lose ends. Overall I enjoyed this. Joey is like my crazy Cuban uncle that I can just sit down and listen talk about his life for hours.
Again I do not rate non-fictions but this was great and I would recommend to any Joey fan wanting further insight into Joey's life. Even if you're not a fan of stand-up this under-dog story is amazing.
Check TW for drug use, death, violence and more just incase!

[Conor O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fucking tremendous

[Wynne Vandersall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I forgot to put this one into my goodreads back in October, Tremendous by Joey 'Coco' Diaz is far from forgettable. My coworker and best friend Sam lent it to me and I returned it to him after only a day and a half spent high on page-turning ecstacy.

Sam summed up the memoir perfectly in his both eloquent and amusing review. He writes, "As someone who's tried some of the best cocaine you can find in Iowa, let me tell you this book is 10x more addictive. Tremendous truly lives up to its name: the rollercoaster life of a coke head turned stand up comedian driven by the hustle is truly an inspiring tale, filled with highs and lows and everything in between. This book will make you want to do a line of blow, call your mother, try an amateur night at the comedy club. This was quite the 'goodread'. Well done Joey Diaz! 5/5"

Indeed, Diaz writes vivid and fluid chapters and is able to bring us through the hard shit in his past without it becoming one big sob story. On the contrary, one is left with an overwhelming desire to "hustle" for their dreams and aspirations and to turn one's talent and drive toward the good of family, friends, and community.

For me, it will always be one of those books that fell into my hands at the perfect time (thanks Sam!) and inspired me to dig deeper into the well of resources already within me and take action. I heartily agree, well done Joey Diaz!

[Carrington Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know anything about Joey Diaz, then you know he’s lived a crazy life. This book did a good job detailing his early childhood, and how he became who he is today. Many of the stories are sad, some are crazy and others are hilarious, but I’ve never read a story where someone has failed messed up more than this guy, but he ultimately was able to change his life and that’s a beautiful thing. and the best part is that he narrated the audiobook, so you know it’s hilarious! Overall great book if you wanted to read this, I’d say watch his podcast first he’s not everyone’s cuppa tea

[Tyler Philips · Rating 5 out of 5]

All signs pointed to your life ending in tragedy, but you found your way. Thank you for sharing your story, it was brutal and raw not unlike your comedy.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, sad, depressing autobiography of the author’s eventful life up until the age of 60. Joey was born in Havana, Cuba and his family emigrated to New York. His father died when Joey Diaz was 3 years old. His mother unexpectedly died at the age of 48. Joey Diaz was 16 years old when he discovered his mother lying dead in her home. Joey grew up in a neighborhood where he learned to be streetwise very early. He held a gun when he was six year old. His mother was Cuban.

Joey learned about sex early and stealing items became second nature to him. He was a drug addict and trafficker through his teen years up until he was 45 years old. He had a cocaine habit for thirty years.

He served 16 momths in prison in 1988 for kidnapping and robbery. In prison he discovered he had a talent for being a comedian. He became a very successful stand up comedian and gained roles in prominent movies. His first marriage failed. He eventually lost custody of his first daughter.

Later he married and has been married for 22 years and has a ten year old daughter.

The writing style is very matter of fact and dialogue like. Readers interested in Joey Diaz will find this book a very worthwhile, satisfying reading experience.

This book was first published in 2023.

[Tim Verbergt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story by an amazing comic qnd human being. I only wish it was longer c*cksucka!

[Jared Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re not familiar with Joey Diaz, he’s a standup comedian who has lived a life unlike anything you have ever heard. Nobody has stories like Joey Diaz and I have been listening to them for years. I couldn’t wait to read this book and it didn’t disappoint. His life is fascinating and his ability to overcome everything life has thrown at him is incredible. If you’re a fan of Uncle Joey and his insane stories, then you will love this book.

[Kevin Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve probably listened to well over 100 hours of Joey Diaz podcasts and his book reads just the same. It was nice to hear old stories and new ones along with background for some of the legendary stories he’s told throughout his career.

I read this hardcover and listened to the audiobook , if you really love uncle Joey, your listening on audible. (Put to 1.05 speed to have his actual speaking cadence)

[Zakary Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow… I’ve been a follower of Joey’s ever since I saw him on “This Is Not Happening” and have kept up with him ever since. So many podcasts with Joe Rogan, Alex Jones, Lee Syatt, and more.

Through all of his stories he has told I felt like I knew his upbringing and the type of man he is. This book really got me to see what his upbringing and middle age was like. Feelings of sadness came up hearing about his upbringing and how that led him to make many mistakes in his life, at times he was set up for failure.

Going into his 20s-40s, having a struggling addition to drugs and partying must have been beyond difficult to cope with. Every day trying to quit but you can’t stop, even when you do you’ll relapse and go right back in. A struggling comedian/actor trying to make it big, getting his act together. What really resonated with me was his aspirations. Writing down who he wanted to perform with, what his goals were, where he wanted to perform, all the while keeping himself positive to getting to that point with all the bullshit. Truly inspirational.

Thank you to Joey for making comedy a better place. I can remember being in my room and stumbling across his videos and laughing so hard I watched his stories three times in a row because I couldn’t get enough. It reminded me of the guys that would be around my dad, maybe in a sense I can see a bit of my dad in the comedy. Stories that are so crazy your jaw drops and you laugh so hard you’re crying and can’t breathe. Blue collar humor, someone who’s faced adversity, it feels just to have a man like that make it into comedy. It gives me hope for the average guy, who had shit handed to them one day after another and had that hustle in them to make it.

The art of storytelling is really where I think Joey succeeds. A man who took his upbringing by the balls and was able to gain a huge following. If someone were to ask me who Joey Diaz is, there is one word that comes to mind: genuine.

[Ville Verkkapuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love good memoirs. Especially when they are actually open, like this is. Telling the most terrible things of ones life. Like truly fucking horrible things. Because this is how you learn, as an individual and as a collective. This is how you see how second changes works, how to build an arch, how to recover. The honesty is so important. It's so important to see the background for behaviours, the way out, to see that all of us fuck up and there's a way to become a good citizen of the world, helping people to cope with the burden of sheer existence.

I enjoyed the first part of this book immensely. Diaz had a heartbreaking childhood, losing both of his parents. So much cigarette smoke, booze and cocaine, a complete chaos. Yet still so much love, in a setting so honest and pure, I truly felt it. I know this world, parts of it. And it was so well-written, filling all missing details with prose. And the way Diaz still says things hurt, that's powerful. The death of his mother. I was reading that with my lower lip quivering.

A really good one which you'll get through pretty quickly, too. And will never forget.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

“My life was comedy, cocaine, and Coca-Cola.”

Rating: 5/5

“My advice to you is to do the same. Just keep showing up. Just keep hustling, and doing it with the right intentions. Go ahead and take a leaf out of my book (besides the hard drugs and robberies, let’s say), and make shit happen!”

“There I was, thinking I knew so much about sex, only to find myself without it—and in a real shit situation at that. While I’d been caught up happily humping the school year away, my grades had completely gone to shit, and I found out I needed to do summer school if I stood a chance of moving on to the eighth grade that next year. But when I fucked up summer school, too, crying over Nikki, I officially had to redo seventh grade. I knew my mom would fucking lose her mind, so I vowed to never let her know I’d gotten left back, no matter what it took. (Like, I knew a girl whose father owned a print shop, and she would help me forge my report cards to say I was in the eighth grade. Then, the following year, I’d leave the house every morning and start walking towards the high school before looping back to the middle school, so my mom had no reason to question a thing.)
Meanwhile, I had learned one new, important thing about the birds and the bees: women have the power to take a motherfucker down.”

“You’re just so beautiful,” she said, petting my mom’s hair. “What am I going to do? You’re a sister to me. How could you have left me like this?”
She was sobbing, “The world isn’t going to be the same without you.”
I stood there listening to her, realizing that what my mom and Zoraida had was the true definition of friendship. Even after my mom’s death, Zoraida was proving to be a best friend, checking people throughout the wake who my mom didn’t like or get along with, and quietly watching from the corner, doing a bump out of her bra every once in a while, all while making sure the wake was exactly what my mom would have wanted in every way.
“I’m going to make you a promise,” she said at the casket. “I’m going to make sure your son grows up to be a man. I’m going to take care of him. I’m going to love him as much as you did.”
Then, she did a bump right there at the casket.
“I’d offer you some, but . . .” she shrugged, and her tears turned to laughter.”

“When they called my name, I got up onstage, took a deep breath, and . . . “What’s up, you bad motherfuckers!”
I couldn’t tell you what I said, exactly. It doesn’t really matter, because all I remember is hearing laughs coming from everywhere in the room. These people were laughing at my jokes. Getting offstage, I was even more sure that this was what I wanted to do with my life. All that nervousness had turned to pure fucking joy.
After my set, the club owner—a guy named Ed Nichols—and a bunch of other comics came up to me.
“That was great,” Ed said. “Your stage presence is fucking brilliant. Was that really your first time doing stand-up?”
“It was, yeah,” I said, in disbelief of how well it had gone. My head was buzzing. I was filled with adrenaline, I could barely think. But I’ll tell you the truth—it was better than any drug, any rush I’d had in my crazy-ass life. I knew right away that when I was onstage, I was home.
“You’re going to come back, right?” he asked.
“Fuck yeah, I’ll be back.”

“Instead of going home and celebrating with a ton of booze and drugs as I otherwise would have, I went home and let my mind soberly absorb it all. I had to put everything I had into this. That night I pulled out a few books I had on comedy and, from then on—in addition to all my other efforts—I started reading everything I could on stand-up.
Comedy was going to be the thing to keep me alive, even in times I’d be holding on by a thread.”

“When Kathy and I got to Comedy Works, I looked around the room to see what I was up against. There were like twenty or thirty people there maybe, which . . . fuck . . . that wasn’t a ton, but I’d never been so nervous in my entire life. I was pacing, sweating, cursing; I knew I needed to get past this first set if I wanted any chance at this. Lots of people talk about wanting to be a comic, but then they let this very moment stop them because they’re scared. I couldn’t let that be me.”

“I tried my hardest to stay positive. Every night I’d write down my comedy goals to wish it all into existence. This included people I wanted to eventually perform with, like Doug Stanhope and Rick Ducommun. There was one comedy newspaper called Just For Laughs that would feature all of the top clubs in the country, and I’d go through it every night and circle clubs I wanted to perform at, like The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. It was the home of the greats. I wanted to be onstage there more than I wanted to fucking breathe.
”

“The way I saw it, I just needed to keep showing up, and keep showing up, and eventually somebody would notice. And somebody did.”

“I heard a rumor if you do heroin two or three days in a row, you get addicted, so I decided to only snort it on Mondays.”

“Once I was able to quit cocaine for good, I started to change other parts of my life for the better, too. I got into the gym, started Weight Watchers, and over time dropped nearly a hundred and fifty pounds. I also managed to reconnect with my Uncle Lazaro. I was out in Malibu on an audition and stopped to eat a sandwich on the rocks looking out at the ocean when it hit me: I’d been to the exact spot with Uncle Lazaro when I was a kid. I decided to call him.”

“I’d built myself a comedy career out of nothing, had dozens of acting gigs under my belt—working with some of the top names in the industry—and built a family of loyal fans. People were recognizing me on the street, asking for my autograph, and wanting to take pictures with me. I’d made it, and on my own terms. Best of all, I’d married the love of my life, brought an amazing kid into the world, and started a real home.
Truth be told, I was proud of myself. And I knew I’d become a version of myself that my mother could be proud of, too. That felt fucking tremendous.
And that, my friends, is the story of your Uncle Joey.”

[Shayan Nomani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, difficult to understand.
This books gives you a peep into the enigmatic brain that is Joey Diaz. I would say I read this book but its more like I inhaled it like that savage inhales out of a bong. The book goes thru the life of Coco, tackling the hardest topics like addiction, death, prison, and redemption with the authentic, real, and down to earth voice of a man who has lived many lives. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is into comedy and standup.
Enjoy it, cocksucka

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous is an understatement

Joey "Coco" Diaz has led a tremendously interesting life from his Cuban heritage, up-bringing and comming of age in late 70s early 80s New York/New Jersey to his troubled adulthood and successful comedy career. With a unique view and voice Uncle Joey's recalls with astounding detail, colour and savage honesty his thoughts, feelings and motivations throughout his journey in life. The audio book is beautifully read by Joey himself and I look forward to getting my print version.

[Chandra Marcoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have much to say, certainly not any poignant, about this book. If you are familiar Joey Diaz, this memoir is exactly what you'd expect. If you aren't familiar with Joey Diaz, he is an ex-convict, ex-mobster, and current-very-dirty stand-up comic. You should probably know from that if this is something you would care to read or not. I thought it was entertaining enough and interesting enough for what it was.

[Ricardo Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joey “CoCo” Diaz is my favorite stand-up comedian and his book was really enjoyable, if you know him and think you know all of his stories, think again! It’s great to see him where he is after his rollercoaster of a life, tremendous read!

[Blake Behrens]

Not gonna lie, it’s good as far as the “memoir of a dirtbag” genre goes, but I also found myself kind of grossed out by everything this man got popular for saying and it left me just kind of sad for the type.

[readbysledge (Brandi)]

Memoir= No rating

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. What a fucking life!

[Tim Schannauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Joey Diaz and have been in a reading funk for some time now. This memoir is exactly what I needed to get me back into reading. “I came back to Jersey a man”

[Brody Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I have ever listened to hands down

[Dara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt every emotion possible and laughed along the way. The tone is authentic and made this such a fun read!

[•Kaitlin T • · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. 1000/10. Love Joey

[Michael Lombardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joey Diaz is one of a kind. He's had a sad, chaotic and hilarious life, but managed to make it to the other side. Love that the book is basically just him talking and not doctored up.

[pee-bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joey is a great orator, in his determinedly crass way. Bit of a tragic tale, told with his usual sense of comedy, and wit; it was interesting learning more about his background after mostly knowing of him through The Church of What's Happening Now.

"Tremendous" was an easy, fun listen and was made so much better since it was narrated by Joey himself.

[Tony Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that got me back into reading. Tremendous no pun intended. The stories of trials and tribulations this man had to go through to accomplish his dreams are nothing short of inspiring and compelling. Being a fan of his and his comedy, this book gives you a raw, and unfiltered look at what it looks like to go from nothing to something. Tremendous.