Hilarious, hopeful and inspiring memoir about comedian Zarna Garg. I will be honest--I don't love her comedy. But her book is phenomenal.

Zarna Garg is the youngest daughter of an ambitious, hot-tempered father who rose from abject poverty to immense wealth in 1980s India. Loved and pampered by her older siblings and family servants, Zarna grows up an intelligent, wise-cracking kid. Her much older siblings grow up and get married and become less involved in her life. Shortly after, her mother dies unexpectedly. Bereft and emotionally immature, her father gives 15 year old Zarna an ultimatum: get married or get out of the house. Zarna runs away, spending a year homeless, couch surfing on whoever will take her. Zarna struggles and eventually decides to return home. But at the 11th hour she receives a miraculous opportunity that whisks her away to Akron Ohio.

Zarna takes us through her life as a new immigrant, lawyer, love-struck wife, stay at home mom to three high achieving kids, and ultimately a comedian who will stop at nothing to succeed. Her life has taken such unbelievable twists and turns--I could not put this book down.

My favorite parts of this book were when Zarna shared the raw moments that made her the ambitious, tenacious woman that she is. She roasts everything from the expectations of those around her in India, American opulence and attitudes, wealthy New York City parent culture, being in love inspite of herself, and many other forces that shaped her life. Highly highly recommend this book!

What a powerful story about finding yourself. I really enjoyed reading this one. Thank you for the early opportunity!

This book wasn't on my radar until I received an advanced copy. Well, shame on me. My endless thanks to the publishers because comedian memoirs are catnip for me and this one will go down as one of my favourites.

Zarna Garg has an incredible life story and she tells it with humor and vulnerability. She's brave, she's hilarious, she's brilliant. I couldn't put this book down. HIGHLY recommend.

Zarna found herself living on the streets of India at fourteen after her mother died. Her father wanted to be free to marry again so he was set on marrying Zarna off. Zarna wasn’t having any of that. She stayed with friends or her brother until she finally went back home to accept an arranged marriage. Just before the marriage was to take place she was rescued by her sister. A new life in America began, and Zarna set off to Ohio.

Zarna went into every endeavor with a mission to succeed whether it was studying, being a lawyer, mom, writer & comedian.

Zarna Gary is an inspiration, a true example of achieving the American dream. I enjoyed the humor she brought to her life’s story. I rate this a 5 ⭐️ I recommend this to anyone that loves a success story.

I absolutely loved this book! Zarna tells her inspiring story with the perfect amount of humor. I really enjoyed her writing style, and I loved that she included photos! This is one of the best memoirs I’ve read. I can’t wait to start listening to her podcast, too. Huge thanks to Random House-Ballantine for reaching out with approval for the ARC from NetGalley. I’m so happy I got acquainted with Zarna, and I look forward to what she’ll do next!

I loved this book. The flow of the life story was amazing. The most powerful thing for me was that she just kept trying. She tried selling toothbrushes, she tried to become a paralegal. She tried and she kept trying.

I have to admit that I had NEVER heard of Zarna and I was just reading it because I wanted to know how a homeless child in Mumbai overcame that and made it to America. NOW, I want to see one of her stand ups.

And her lifestory is AMAZING! My favorite story is the one with her dating her now husband. She went against convention and married for love (shocked gasp! LOL)

The author is an up and coming wonder woman and everyone would benefit to read this book.

She has a never say dreams are dead!

This book will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you grab a brand new notebook to jot down all of Zarna’s wisdom. I expected a funny memoir, to be sure. I did not expect to leave feeling immensely patriotic to my homeland and the land of my heritage, to have a better handle on the mother and the daughter I want to be, and to feel ready to take on the world.

This is one of my top books of the year, and now one of my favorite books ever.

This was such an entertaining book. Zarna is truly funny and tells her story, which is sometimes tragic, in a way that is engaging and inspiring. She uses humor to make light of her difficulties growing up in India with a father who ignores her and a mom she lost early. But her success is due to her grittiness and attitude of never giving up. She’s become well known for stories and insights on growing up Indian. If you’re unfamiliar with the culture, you’ll learn a lot and laugh along the way.

I was so excited to read this book and it didn’t disappoint !! I have loved Zarna Garg ever since the first time I watched her hilarious videos on instagram. Reading her story made me love her all the more. She is a perfect example of the “American Dream”. Her success was hard won and achieved through hard work and determination. She overcame much personal heartache on her journey from India to the USA. The book covers her childhood all the way through current times.
Even if you’ve never seen her comedy routine I would recommend reading this autobiography. She is a great example for girls and older women too. It is never too late to achieve your dreams if you continue to strive and believe in yourself.

I could use all the best adjectives in the English language to describe this book by Zarna! But I will choose one - deeply inspiring.

Every single quote that adorned the beginning of each chapter, should be on a frame on a wall.

I started this book expecting Zarna’s life story weaved with her style of humor… I got that plus more… it’s a story of confidence, grit, resilience, finding your passion and purpose and making things happen!

This book and Zarna’s story has left a deep imprint in my heart, and will fuel the confidence I needed to keep moving forward in my own journey of life! Thank you, Zarna, for sharing your story and inspiring so many of us! More power to you!

The algorithms first introduced me to Zarna from her hour long special. Her memoir goes deep into her childhood and how she made it to the US. After that, the more it went on, the less details we got, so it went fast through her having three kids and being a stay at home mom for many many years (which I think was prolly okay to skip over). Where I really wished it had taken its time was everything about her first steps into stand up and open mics. I was waiting for the book to get there so I think I expected more details, just as much or more as her childhood chapters. I had a lot of fun and really appreciate this comic. Her late rise to fame is really inspiring and I am excited for her next hour long special.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This American Woman is a laugh-out-loud, inspiring memoir that proves it's never too late to chase your dreams. Zarna Garg's journey from escaping an arranged marriage in India to thriving as a stand-up comedian in America is nothing short of extraordinary. With wit, heart, and unfiltered honesty, she shares her struggles and triumphs, making you root for her every step of the way. Her humor is razor-sharp. her storytelling captivating, and her resilience unmatched. A must-read for
anyone who loves comedy, empowerment, and a great immigrant success story. Zarna's voice is unforgettable!

I cannot remember the last time I read a book as quickly as this one. I watched Zarna perform in San Jose last year and would never have imagined the hardships that brought her so far. She is such an inspiration to us desi girls. My only suggestion is to remove the Hitler reference early in the book, that was weird.

“This American Woman” is by comedian Zarna Garg. If like me, you have no idea who this woman is - it’s okay. Pick up the book and you’ll find out who she is. Ms. Garg’s writing is engaging and funny, filled with some Indian culture things I hadn’t thought about (at the age of eight she couldn’t get into American children’s books because no one died - once she said it, I thought “huh, she’s not wrong … yeah”). Comedy is never easy - one doesn’t just spew out joke after joke - and that an “Indian Auntie” (her description) can make it in the comedy world is amazing to me. Ms. Garg had a difficult childhood - thank goodness for her siblings providing love and safety - but she also had determination and a rather interesting view of being on her own at a young age. I greatly enjoyed reading times when she was blazing new trails for herself, but can also understand why others were shaking their heads at her actions. I finished this book in one day - it was that enjoyable a read. Strong recommend - again, even if you have no idea who she is, this book was engaging, funny, sad, and at it’s heart all Zarna Garg.

I so enjoyed This American Woman. I had not heard of Zarna, now I feel like we are on a first name basis. This is not Indian humor, this is universal humor with an insight into cultural differences. What a an amazing life story of a truly remarkable woman. Even in the midst of rejection and despair you had to laugh at Zarna and her persistence. I will be looking up her comedy routines and recommending this book to anyone who wants to read an inspiring, entertaining memoir.
I so enjoy a book with photographs and the photos included in this book really added to the connection I made with the author. She is a trip!
Thank you to Amy Jackson at Random House and Netgalley for providing me this advance read. It was a joy!

I am not exaggerating at all when I say this is one of the best memoirs that I have ever read.

I was not very familiar with Zarna Garg when I began reading this book but after reading just a few chapters, I was completely hooked. Garg's story is complicated - as most lives are, however, the twists and turns of her adolescent years are heartbreaking. However, her determination and eventually dedication to figuring out her place in the world are inspiring.

She paints such a vivid picture of her upbringing in India and I learned so much about her culture. She does not sugar-coat the difficult parts of her story whether it was a tumultuous relationship with her father or navigating parenthood.

Her ascent into a successful comedy career is laudable, but most impressive is how she persisted toward living the life that she desired even when those around her discouraged her or actually tried to stop her.

This is a very inspirational (and funny) book and I would recommend it to all. I am definitely going to find her comedy special to get caught up on that part of her story.

This story has all the components of a Bollywood movie. The tears, the fears, the dysfunction, the romance and more. But that's not where it's genius lies. It's true worth rests in the vulnerability, the guidance, and the grit of its storyteller. Zarna highlights our universal desires of belonging, of merging multiple identities and seemingly competing life goals. The memoir raced along but stopped me in my tracks in the last few pages. As I'm about to return to India to face my own void, I found support and hope from someone so different from me.
As a psychologist and coach, I know the value of being seen. I offer that to my clients every day. Now it's time to receive it. Thank you for the encouragement and the validation.

Thank you to Zarna Garg, Random House Publishing: Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the arc of This American Woman, out April 29, 2025!

📜Quick Summary: Zarna grew up in India, in a family that was not rich, rich, but rich enough to have the basic needs and gardner great marriage picks. The thought of an arranged marriage troubled her, and eventually she did run away. Then, when she was told who she would be married off to, took off for America to not only be free, but to find herself. People always called her “American,” so why not actually make it come true. In this memoir, you will hear not only of her journey to find her own, but how she became a lawyer, stay at home mom, and comedian. Her memoir depicts a life of devoting time to finding yourself, and may give us the hope we need to follow our dreams.

❣️Initial Feels: I love her style of writing and I feel for that little fourteen year old girl. She suffered so much and being alone, gosh, I can’t imagine. She equals out the sadness with lots of laughs, and I love the images throughout the book!

👀Trigger Warnings: death of parent

📖Read if you want: a journey to finding yourself, memoir, laughs,

🌶️Spice Level: not what this book is about but she does tell the reader when she “does it”

🗨️Touching Words: “Burn that bridge if it leads to hell.”

💡Final Sentiments: It is so hard to rate memoirs, because how do you “judge” a person’s life? But, this memoir was well executed and made me want to keep reading. I was cheering right along Sunita, her sister, for Zarna to find the life she was destined to have. She made you laugh, maybe made you cry, and always showed up for herself. Her whole journey is relatable (even if you didn’t run away at 14 and were living on your own for 1.5 years) because her experience as a mom is something so many can relate to. Have a job? Stay at home? Do too much of one and be miserable? This book flew by and was the perfect read on a rainy day!

🌟Overall Rating: 4.5 stars

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

i LOVE zarna and her comedy style so i was hyped to read this memoir and it turns out to be pretty funny and pretty interesting. 5 stars. tysm for thea rc.

This American Woman by Zarna Garg is written with grace and humor. This memoir takes you on a journey. From her childhood and adolescence in Mumbai to running away from home as a teen to coming to America to chase her dreams—it is nonstop laughs. Even the harder topics were handled in a manner that was funny, while being respectfully irreverent. I liked Zarna a lot before. I love her now!
Thank you to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.