Not Without Laughter is a story of an African-American family. The main character, Sandy observes the difficulties of an African-American while growing up. Sandy’s family is poor due to the discrimination black people face. Despite of the fact of being poor, Sandy’s family continue to educate Sandy, so he can live a better life. Sandy lives with his grandmother Aunt Hager who plays a big part in raising up Sandy. After Aunt Hager dies, Sandy’s mother cannot afford to bring him to where she lives, therefore, Sandy goes to live with his aunt, Tempy. His Aunt Tempy was part of the higher class black society in which Sandy gets a big opportunity to learn as there are many books. Sandy and his family save up money to help with Sandy’s education as they dream big for his future.