This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TCNJ chapter.
If you ask any of my friends, they would say I am Mindy Kaling’s number one fan. I am in awe of the amazing work that she has compiled in the last year, from running her own television sitcom, The Mindy Project, to starring in one of Pixar’s hit films, Inside Out – this has been her year! To make it even better, she has released a second collection of personal essays, Why Not Me?, in which she talks about her juicy Hollywood secrets and the experiences that have made her into the person she is today.
Throughout this memoir, Kaling manages to articulate her embarrassing childhood memories with such clarity that I feel as if I am with her in the moment. Interestingly, to make friends in elementary school, Kaling “…brought a family-size bag of Skittles to homeroom so I could pass them out and entice the new classmates to talk to me.” This phrase is quite hilarious, to a point where I actually begin to understand what a struggle it actually is to make friends. Kaling has the remarkable ability to intertwine humor and life-lessons within her work.
One remarkable part of Why Not Me? is Kaling’s ability to seamlessly blend her emotion and writing into one. She crafts her past experiences in such a way as to make her book of personal essays one that is unexpected every page. Kaling’s personal writing style adds life to the words on the page and meaning behind what she is saying. Essentially, Kaling has the ability to keep it real. She writes phrases such as “I’m skrilla flush with the dolla-dolla-bill-ya’ll.” Writing such as this always pulls me into the memoir because Kaling has a way of expressing her feelings so that everyone can relate to her emotions. This realism is what pulls me into the memoir.
Not only does Kaling manage to keep it real, but she spills some juicy Hollywood secrets, from her many photo-shoots to hair extensions. She writes, “The person above is the creation of a handful of talented people whose job is to make me look good.” I don’t want to ruin the rest of her memoir because it is filled with a ton of Hollywood secrets, but her chapter on Hair Extensions is one that is hilariously written.
Essentially, Why Not Me? is Kaling’s best work yet. It is humorous, witty and even inspirational at times. In fact, after reading the memoir, I felt as if Mindy Kaling has become my new best friend.