About The Book

From Dusty Slay, the Southern stand-up comedian and Nashville favorite behind Netflix’s Wet Heat and Workin’ Man specials, comes a collection of personal essays featuring his signature storytelling rooted in finding the hilarity in everyday life.

Dusty Slay has lived a lot of lives. At eighteen years old, he dropped out of community college. At nineteen, his plans to join the army were foiled by an arrest. By twenty-one he moved from his hometown of Opelika, Alabama, to Charleston, South Carolina.

On the coast, Slay worked as a waiter and pesticide salesman for over a decade while moonlighting as an obscure, often drunk, open mic comedian. It wasn’t until he quit drinking in 2012 that he started to take comedy and his unique talent for telling jokes seriously.

These personal essays chronicle the life he’s led—from growing up in a trailer park to performing at the Grand Ole Opry—with his signature Southern humor and wit, revealing how to find light, laughter, and gratitude in everyday moments, even through life’s challenges.

About The Author

Dusty Slay is a Nashville-based comedian who has been featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hollywood Squares with Drew Barrymore, Comedy Central, and Netflix’s The Standups. In 2024, he released his first Netflix special, Workin’ Man, followed by his second, Wet Heat, in 2025. He is the host of the Public Figures podcast as well as the We’re Having a Good Time Podcast.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Gallery Books (December 15, 2026)
  • Length: 240 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668087664

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

“I can promise you Dusty is one of a kind, in the best way. If you wonder what goes on behind the trucker hat and glasses, this memoir has the answers. This book has grit, heart, and hilariously relatable stories.” Nate Bargatze, comedian, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of BIG DUMB EYES

“Everyone wants to be Dusty’s best friend! He is salt of the earth and hilarious.  You will laugh out loud reading this memoir from one of my favorite comedians who is always having a good time.”—Leanne Morgan, comedian, and New York Times bestselling author of WHAT IN THE WORLD?!

“I love hearing stories of triumph, overcoming struggle, defying the odds…and this book is loaded with that and so many laughs throughout. Dusty is so funny, he makes me laugh whether the jokes are on stage or on the page.”Jeff Foxworthy, comedian, and New York Times bestselling author of THE REDNECK DICTIONARY

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

BACK TO TOP