When people talk about comedians or comedy clubs, I’m at a loss because this is a genre where I am clueless, so I never would have picked up this memoir. But I’m grateful my book club chose it because I laughed out loud, and I realized, we need more humor and entertainment in our lives during these trying times. 

Zarna is an Indian immigrant who came to the US as a student, but her story starts much earlier, when her mom dies young and her dad decides to marry her off at 14. She chooses life on the streets of Mumbai rather than an an economically advantageous arranged marriage. Desperate for food and shelter after a few years on the streets, she reluctantly goes back home and agrees to marriage—but just then, her US student visa comes through, and she escapes. 

The rest of her story is about education, marriage, raising kids as a tiger mom, and ultimately, seeking out a career of her own. Known as a chubby girl who would never shut up, she discovers comedy is her calling, and so she immerses herself in the NYC comedy scene with the ferocity only a tiger mom could do.

This memoir is her story of this journey and how she uses her life experiences as fodder for her jokes. I watched a few her Instagram reels, but I actually find her funnier in writing. A few examples:

“I was amazed at American college life—students would eat in class, put their feet on chairs and desks, or wander in late, and the teacher never yelled at them! My school life back home had been filled with arbitrary punishments like getting rapped on the knuckles with a ruler…Here the teachers were apologizing to students for not dumbing  the material down enough!”

“Indians don’t marry for love. They marry for security…But Americans demand ‘love marriages,’ which is what Indians call non-arranged marriages. Indians just want indoor plumbing and a job at Citibank.”

She pokes fun at the NYC preschool admission “interviews” that will make or break a child’s future and at White kids who don’t strive to be a doctor or a CEO and buckle under stress or hard work. She jokes about her bathroom “office” during Covid and the way her husband Wall Street firm shat on them by “redeeming” (aka downsizing).

Zarna is funny, irreverent, and a tireless worker and entrepreneur. Her book is a wild ride.