Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling is a book I would easily describe as a humorous light read. The memoir speaks about highlights in Mindy’s childhood as well as her origins as a comedian and actress. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me has taught me the importance of self-confidence and ambition in my dreams. Mindy tells her arduous tale of Off-Broadway success (I’m not really sure I could go through with accidentally breaking my friend’s nose and continuing the performance) while utilizing themes such as commitment and girl power. I rate this book a 3 out of 5 because although it was a short and mildly interesting read, it was a short and mildly interesting read. The book was too scattered for me to really connect with what the words were saying, but I have a certain amount of appreciation for Mindy’s style of writing, which made me feel like she was talking to be rather than at me.
The book begins with Mindy’s childhood. She walks the reader through her younger years as a ‘statistically rare overweight Indian child’ and how she was bullied by a Senegalese kid with back-handed compliments. Mindy progresses to talk about how she lost weight just for the sake of being able to fit in with her freshman class, but to no avail. Everyone still made fun of her solely for the reason that she used to be fat, which is outrageous in my opinion.
Mindy managed to stay at an average weight until she entered college, where she gained something known as the ‘freshman 35’. Mindy meets Brenda, who becomes Mindy’s lifelong best friend. Together the two work out and help Mindy get back into shape.
The two friends had started to perform their own show, Matt & Ben, featuring Mindy and Brenda as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who were big parts of their lives in the early 2000’s. The show was directed and scripted by the women and was eventually recognized by producers in the area who helped get the show transferred to Off-Broadway, which in turn allowed for Mindy to be hired as a staff writer for a few episodes of the U.S. versions of The Office.
The book begins with Mindy’s childhood. She walks the reader through her younger years as a ‘statistically rare overweight Indian child’ and how she was bullied by a Senegalese kid with back-handed compliments. Mindy progresses to talk about how she lost weight just for the sake of being able to fit in with her freshman class, but to no avail. Everyone still made fun of her solely for the reason that she used to be fat, which is outrageous in my opinion.
Mindy managed to stay at an average weight until she entered college, where she gained something known as the ‘freshman 35’. Mindy meets Brenda, who becomes Mindy’s lifelong best friend. Together the two work out and help Mindy get back into shape.
The two friends had started to perform their own show, Matt & Ben, featuring Mindy and Brenda as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who were big parts of their lives in the early 2000’s. The show was directed and scripted by the women and was eventually recognized by producers in the area who helped get the show transferred to Off-Broadway, which in turn allowed for Mindy to be hired as a staff writer for a few episodes of the U.S. versions of The Office.