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Arts & Entertainment

Grand Prairie's 'Chewbacca Mom' has a book out this week

Grand Prairie resident Candace Payne, who went viral last year as "Chewbacca Mom," is publishing her first book this week. You might say that makes this debut her "Wookiee" attempt at publishing.

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I'm sorry. That was terrible.

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But it doesn't change the fact that Laugh It Up! will be released Tuesday by faith-based publisher Zondervan. In its 208 pages, Payne talks about dark moments from her past (including a suicide attempt) as well as the brighter moments that have made her the beacon of positivity she is today.

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Payne, if you don't know, went viral for laughing hysterically in a Facebook Live video after putting on a toy Chewbacca mask.

Yes, that's it. To be fair, it was pretty funny. Funny enough to earn more than 43 million views in under 24 hours. (It now has more than 170 million.)

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You could say she milked her five minutes of fame, but to her credit, she turned out to be a more wholesome viral star than many. She spread her message of joy on shows like Good Morning America and went to Fan Expo Dallas with the real Chewbacca (and fellow Texan), actor Peter Mayhew. There might even be a future TV show inspired by her.

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The book is, unsurprisingly, all about joy. It's all about laughing in the face of adversity and inviting happiness to take center stage. Given the publisher and Payne's background as a church worship leader, it won't shock you to know that these topics intersect often with faith and thoughts about God.

Let's be honest: Parts of the book will make certain readers cringe. For example, I'm going to tell you that one of the chapters is called "Uh-oh, Joy Has a Frenemy." At one point in the book there is a line that reads, "This was a #nofilter prayer, y'all." Your internal reaction to that information might tell you whether you should skip this book.

That said, Laugh It Up! certainly feels like a book Chewbacca Mom is responsible for, and if that sounds like something up your alley, it will hit bookstores this week.