Regina asked Mindy Kaling:

Your books mention your parents and the immigrant experience, something I relate to as a first generation American. In which ways does your background and culture still influence your life and your writing?

Mindy Kaling I think my background influences my writing in ways I haven’t even fully grasped yet. My favorite writer is Jhumpa Lahiri, because she writes so beautifully about the Indian immigrant experience to the Northeast in the 1970’s and 80’s, which is literally the story of my family. I wish she would be more prolific, because everything she has ever written has spoken to me so personally.

I don’t write about it as specifically as Jhumpa, but I think my background influences my writing in the way I write so openly about ambition. Ambition and dreaming of faraway places and success is something all over the pages of my book. I get that directly from my parents and their journey making it to this country. Growing up, there was no shame in being ambitious, and no shame in hard work. Ambition and grit aren’t the most traditionally “feminine” qualities, but they were celebrated in my family. I love writing about them.

flag