This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir (Unabridged)
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4.1 • 8 Ratings
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
Award-winning comedian Zarna Garg turns her astonishing life story into a hilarious memoir, spilling all the chai on her wild ride from escaping an arranged marriage and homelessness in India to carving her own path in America and launching a dazzling second act in midlife.
“A deeply honest and hilarious book about how you always win if you bet on yourself.”—Amy Poehler
Throughout Zarna’s whole childhood in India, everyone called her “so American” just for reading the newspaper, having deep thoughts, and talking back to anyone over the age of thirty. When Zarna’s dad tried to marry her off at age fourteen, Zarna fled—first to the streets of Mumbai and ultimately to the glittering paradise of Akron, Ohio, where she got to become American for real.
On Zarna’s very American quest to find herself and her calling, she threw herself wholeheartedly into roles like dog-bite lawyer, crazy perfectionist stay-at-home mom, Indian matchmaker, prizewinning screenwriter, and more. It wasn’t until a dare led her to a stand-up comedy open mic that Zarna finally found her spiritual home: getting paid cold hard cash for her big fat mouth.
And as Zarna discovered, after surviving the brutal streets of Mumbai, the cutthroat world of stand-up comedy is nothing.
This American Woman is an exuberant story of fighting for your right to determine your own destiny and triumphing beyond what you ever dreamed was possible. Zarna’s mantra becomes a call to action: It’s never too late. If Zarna can do it, you can, too.
Bonus content! At the end of the program, hear from Zarna's sons Brij and Veer about losing their Mom to comedy, but finding each other. Experience Shalabh's front row seat watching his wife take flight in mid-life. If you think you cried enough during the memoir, you're not done yet!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
After hearing this wild ride of a memoir, you’ll never think of the American Dream the same way again. Zarna Garg was 14 and living with her family in Mumbai when, soon after her mother’s death, her father decided that she’d gone from a funny, precocious child to a spinster daughter who needed to be married off—seemingly overnight. She was able to escape being forced into an arranged marriage by running away and, eventually, traveling to the U.S. on a student visa with the help of her amazing sister…and that’s where things really got interesting! We were immediate fans of Garg’s can-do attitude and infectious sense of humour. Her fearlessly witty observations made us chuckle during even the toughest parts of her story. Which is fitting, since after becoming a lawyer, marrying for love, and having kids, Garg found her true calling in her forties—as a stand-up comedian. Naturally, her delivery is marked by the impeccable comic timing that’s made her a justified sensation.
Customer Reviews
Trying to hard to be funny
The story is interesting and expressed well in the beginning but her “struggle” to become a comedian seems like she is bragging. And to long in comparison to her childhood and how she adjusted to America. That’s the more interesting part. Didn’t finish listening to it and I was listening while on long drives, but eventually boring empty fields and country roads became more interesting.