This was a powerful, wonderful memoir. I loved learning about Garg's life, experiences she's walked through, and how those brought her to where she is. Highly recommend!

I could NOT put this book down. I loved Zarna Garg's memoir right from the start. I did go into it thinking it would be short funny stories of snippets from her life, but quickly found out it's her real, raw, life and how she became who she is. I was tearing up during her first chapters learning about her mother and father and family dynamics. I also laughed out loud so much too especially talking about meeting her husband and dating him. I have followed Zarna on social media for a long time, but this was felt like a really nice window into her life and what shaped her growing up. I also appreciated that she was honest, she was from a nicer part of India, she did face really great success with her husband working at a hedge fund, but she also faced really really awful lows that included homelessness. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who has seen her on social media or the stand up circuit! Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eARC.

Zarna Garg is a comedian who I have never heard of before reading this book, which isn’t saying much since I am not a person who knows of comedians. I will say, this is one of the most humorous and charming books that I have read. Zarna is completely comfortable making fun of herself, even in the harrowing situations in which she lived as a youth. She is also someone who devoted many years to her family and found herself in middle age, trying to build a business and find herself, a position that I completely understand. I enjoyed every bit of this memoir, from Zarna’s troubled early life in India to her years in the trenches of child-rearing to her rise as a comedian, it is all good material. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

This American Woman is a wonderful book. There are many layers and lots of this and that s..It is truthful, very funny, and heartwarming and it was,very heartfelt to me in all the layers. Zarna has quite a story.! She is remarkable women.
Her her voice writing style is brilliant! I don't want to give away any part of this book, except to say..I highly recommend.
Thanks to net galley and the author ZarnaGarg for the opportunity to read and review this book

Before reading this book I never knew of the author or her story. She has given her readers a in depth story of her immigration to America and her escape from a terrible life. I enjoyed reading this and learning of her success story and her courage.
Thank you to Net Galley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

Okay, Zarna! I had no clue who you were before (sorry!) but you have easily won me over with this memoir.

Funny, engaging, but also thought-provoking walking through the heartache of losing a parent and being abandoned by the other, navigating her way in America with cultural differences, and finding her own path after being a stay at home mom for 20 years.

I teared up, I lol’d. Highly recommend for anyone, even if you don’t follow comedians or read many memoirs. The added pieces by her family were such a nice aspect and Zarna is wildly endearing.

From a homeless teenager on the streets of Mumbai to an affluent housewife on the Upper East Side, Zarna Garg’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. At 14, she fled India to escape an arranged marriage and eventually became an unlikely stand-up comedian with a Netflix special to prove it.

From a young age, Zarna was deeply introspective and fiercely ambitious. Once in the U.S., she navigated the culture shock of reinventing herself as a mother, wife, and Indian woman in a world vastly different from the one she left behind.

My favorite memoirs offer a window into a life completely unlike my own and THIS AMERICAN WOMAN does exactly that. It’s a heartfelt and often hilarious journey through identity, resilience, and reinvention, served with Zarna’s signature wit.

📚 READ THIS IF YOU:
- Believe it’s never too late to reinvent yourself
- Live for a Netflix comedy special
-Have ever dared to dream of a bold, unconventional life
RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)
PUB DATE: April 29, 2025

Every moment of the articulate, outrageously frank and hilarious Zarna Garg's THIS AMERICAN WOMAN was a true delight. I laughed, murmured understanding and so enjoying getting to know an intelligent woman straddling cultures and newly aware of herself as worthwhile with gifts we all desperately desire. I could not cite any one part that was my favorite, but the beginning, with Garg stepping into the national stage with her idols was the rousing wonderful invitation to get to know an incredible woman and enjoy her stories. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Whatever you’re doing right now stop and go get a copy of this book, clear your schedule and sit down and start reading. You can thank me later! Or rather and certainly more importantly you can that the author. This book is incredible, Zarna shares with us her journey from escaping a potential forced marriage at the tender age of 14 to the incredible strong, smart, funny woman she is. She is incredible and a force to be reckoned with. Somehow in all of the trauma she experienced she had and has so much self esteem and it allowed her homelessness and worrying about her next meal to always believing in herself. Not only is she riotously funny, but a brilliant writer, mother, woman and overall amazing woman. I loved this from start to finish.

Bookworms, I recently spoke about my favorite spring books, and this was one of the ten titles I highlighted. I hope you'll check it out!

Comedian Zarna Garg lived several lives before falling into comedy in midlife and realizing it was where she'd belonged all along. Her memoir is candid, poignant, funny, and always entertaining. I loved this peek into her fascinating life.

Zarna Garg fled her comfortable lifestyle and her widower father to avoid an unwanted arranged marriage at age 14. She begged places to stay from friends and acquaintances in Mumbai, homeless. Desperate for food and shelter and tired of overstaying her welcome and never having security, she was returning home and on the verge of agreeing to be married off, until her long-hoped-for visa to the US came through. Instead of becoming a child bride, she ran from home and began a dramatically different new life in Akron, Ohio. In midlife, she reimagined her future again and became a hard-working comedian who opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and then warranted her own headliner spots.

But along the way Zarna was not only a homeless runaway, but an Indian matchmaker, a law student, a stay-at-home mom, and a prizewinning screenwriter. On a dare from her daughter, she hopped onto an open mic stage, spouted off comedic takes on her life, and after lots of scrapping and scrambling, the rest was history.

In This American Woman, Garg offers an honest, funny account of overcoming sobering challenges and determining her own destiny after years of struggles and constant worries about being a burden on those who might help her. Her intense push to achieve is accompanied by doubt, periods of low self-esteem, and feelings of unworthiness that stem from her childhood.

At the very beginning the pacing felt a little uneven to me, but then Garg hit her stride, and I was taken with her frank narrative, her relentless optimism and drive, her self-deprecating accounts of her imperfections, and her poignant reflections.

I love an honest memoir that lets a reader into the author's inner world, and Zarna has lived a fascinating life that I wanted to learn more about. I laughed out loud repeatedly while I was reading this charming memoir by this strong, funny woman.

I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of Ballantine Books and NetGalley.

Thank you Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a title I was invited to view. Admittedly, I hadn't heard of Zarna Garg. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read this book because she has just gained a new fan in me! Garg's story is an important one, especially in the climate we are living in with regards to immigration and the American dream. I am so excited to check out more of her comedy!

Thank you again for the ARC!

Zarna Garg details her life growing up in Mumbai, India and dealing with family expectations. When she leaves home after refusing an arranged marriage, she loses the status of being a daughter in a well-to-do family. She reveals her survival techniques before her arrival in the USA on a student visa and eventually marrying a man she chose. Interesting facts of what she went through to get her children into Manhattan private schools. After trying numerous careers, she finally discovers what she is meant to do - comedy.
An engaging read.
Thank you Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group | Ballantine Books for the advanced reader copy.
#This American Woman # RandomHouse #Ballantine #NetGalley

Truly a fun read, and my first from Zama Garg. First part of her life in India, leaves for America, and finally ends in the stand up comedy world of theater. Funny, tearful, enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley, and don't miss this one.

I loved this book and I think the scene where her first child, her daughter, is applying to preschool is set up so vividly and it has the wittiest of phrases that had me laughing out loud and showing that part of the book to many of my friends to show them just how funny it was. Zarna Garg is an incredible performer and hilarious and this book did not disappoint. I had not realised that her husband had lost his job during covid and that Zarna was busking in trains telling jokes with a face mask just to support her family. She's incredibly resilient and brilliant and funny.

I had never heard of Zarna Garg before reading her memoir, This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir. But she has opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, recorded her own comedy special, and gained followers on social media. And none of it would have been possible without the difficulties she faced in her childhood.

A teenage runaway from India who ended up escaping an arranged marriage by moving to Ohio with her sister, Garg always wanted to be herself - whether that meant going to law school, marrying for love, or fighting to get her kids the best possible education. Garg looks back on these times in her life with humor, and while the book did make me chuckle, there was a chapter that was so sweet, it made me cry.

Between each chapter are bite-sized life lessons that Garg has learned and is now passing on to her readers.

I may have never heard of Garg before reading this book, but you can bet that I'll be following her on social media and looking to see if she's got any comedy shows near me. This book would be a great one for book clubs to discuss, and it would make a great gift for the strong and funny women in your life.

This American Woman is published by Ballantine Books. I received a free e-ARC to review.

This memoir made me laugh out loud, shed tears, and look at our American ways in a different light.
Zarna grew up in a wealthy family in Mumbai, where her father ruled the roost.
The author introduced me to the customs that wealthy Indians followed - I never realized that Indian weddings were 3 days long!
She was especially close to her older brother, Suresh, who became somewhat of a father figure. The family was close until Zarna's Suresh's wife said the he was single-handedly supporting the family. Their father disowned him and his wife, and child. Zarna thought it would blow ove in a few days, but she didn't realize that she would not see her brother for 4 yrs.
When Zarna was 8 yrs old, she and her mother went to Akron, Ohio to visit her older sister. I had to laugh when she described the habits of Americans - who, when there was nothing to do, got into their big cars and ran "errands" or went somewhere to buy things. Her first experience at Chuck E Cheese had me laughing.
Zara lost her mother when she was young and her father arranged a marriage to a wealthy man when she was 14. She ran away from home until her friends could not have her stay with them. Eventually, she got through school and managed to get a law degree, marry a man of her choosing and lived in NYC. The book is sprinkled with photos of her family giving it a unique touch. She describes her break into comedy, and where she is today.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and am glad that I did learn about this creative, intelligent and very funny woman.

I saw Zarna Garg as the opener for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and immediately requested Zarna’s book on NetGalley as I walked out of the theatre. Her stand up was hilarious but her book was even better. She alternates between being so funny and telling such emotional stories. I wasn’t expecting to be as moved as I was by her story and upbringing. My only complaint is that I wish it went more in depth in her life as a parent and more recent years. I’d love to see that as material for her second book. Overall, this is a really incredible story of resiliency and reinvention with a lot of emotions along the way. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Zarna is an American treasure, so wise and funny! The story of her young life is heartbreaking, but not tragic. Her relationship with her husband and family is so much fun to read about. There are many laugh out loud funny parts of the memoir. The section on the NYC private school is biting and hilarious. Can't wait for her next comedy special.

I wasn't familiar with Zarna Garg before her memoir, but now I'm a huge fan. In what could be a traumatic tale or poverty porn, Garg tells her story in an enthralling and humorous way. I flew through this book in two days thanks to Garg's engaging voice. Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advance copy for review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I enjoy memoirs and this one was light even though some of the subjects were serious and heavy. The author decided to become a comedian in middle age after immigrating from India to escape being married at 15 years old. It sounds like her life is very good but she recalls growing up in India, losing her mother, being set up in an arranged marriage by her father, and then escaping to the US to live with her sister for a more "normal" life. She was always a bit different from other Indian women and had a vision for herself whether it was to go to college, find a husband or try her hand at comedy. Her book is filled with good humor and all the courageous things she did to create a good life. I also listened to the audiobook to experience the author reading her own words. I highly recommend it!