Why Not Me? is a collection of essays by Mindy Kaling. Mindy Kaling is a writer, actress, director and producer known for her work on The Office and The Mindy Project. The book is divided into four sections: For the Ladies; Take this Job and Love It; Love, Dating, and Boys Who Ru(i)n the World; and All the Opinions You Will Ever Need. Within each section, Kaling uses anecdotes to explain the lessons she has learned. She discuss everything from sororities, to 4 a.m worries and fears. Throughout this collection of essays, the readers are delighted with cartoons and pictures from Kaling’s life. The breezy tone of Why Not Me? allows the work to be insightful, but not too heavy. The overarching theme of the essays is Kaling’s outlook on working hard. The essays try to answer the question posed in the title of the work: why not me? The answer is explained through advice and confessions. “Confidence is just entitlement…Entitlement is simply the belief that you deserve something. Which is great. The hard part is, you’d better make sure you deserve it” (Kaling 218). A majority of the essays work to prove that she does deserve the fame and opportunities that she has. In the essay titled “In the Day of the Life of Mindy Kaling” the readers witness Kaling’s daily life through a series of photos and captions. Kaling also discusses her love life and reveals her complicated relationship with her The Office co-star BJ Novak. In another essay, Kaling describes a fling with a man who does security detail for President Obama. Kaling also focuses on body image. She discusses various juice cleanses and diets. While many magazines call her pretty, there is always a qualifier. Kaling confesses her insecurities and flaws as she admits, “I absolutely do try to conform to normal standards of beauty. I am just not remotely successful at it” (Kaling 194). While Mindy Kaling alludes to heavy subjects, such as her mother’s death, she still maintains a carefree distance. Kaling’s informal voice lets us pretend that she’s our best friend. Throughout every essay, Kaling accomplishes her main goal: making people laugh. Most of Kaling’s work focuses on entitlement and work. If executed incorrectly, these essays could make Kaling sound like a braggart. As Kaling recounts her errors and failings, her words humanize her. Her stories combined with the conversational tone allows the reader to believe that Kaling is one of us. If we work hard, we too can ask “why not me?”. If you have ever wanted to be best friends with Kaling, then this is the book for you. The takeaway from this book is not only that Mindy Kaling is just like us, but that we can be just like her.
The overarching theme of the essays is Kaling’s outlook on working hard. The essays try to answer the question posed in the title of the work: why not me? The answer is explained through advice and confessions. “Confidence is just entitlement…Entitlement is simply the belief that you deserve something. Which is great. The hard part is, you’d better make sure you deserve it” (Kaling 218). A majority of the essays work to prove that she does deserve the fame and opportunities that she has. In the essay titled “In the Day of the Life of Mindy Kaling” the readers witness Kaling’s daily life through a series of photos and captions. Kaling also discusses her love life and reveals her complicated relationship with her The Office co-star BJ Novak. In another essay, Kaling describes a fling with a man who does security detail for President Obama. Kaling also focuses on body image. She discusses various juice cleanses and diets. While many magazines call her pretty, there is always a qualifier. Kaling confesses her insecurities and flaws as she admits, “I absolutely do try to conform to normal standards of beauty. I am just not remotely successful at it” (Kaling 194). While Mindy Kaling alludes to heavy subjects, such as her mother’s death, she still maintains a carefree distance. Kaling’s informal voice lets us pretend that she’s our best friend. Throughout every essay, Kaling accomplishes her main goal: making people laugh.
Most of Kaling’s work focuses on entitlement and work. If executed incorrectly, these essays could make Kaling sound like a braggart. As Kaling recounts her errors and failings, her words humanize her. Her stories combined with the conversational tone allows the reader to believe that Kaling is one of us. If we work hard, we too can ask “why not me?”. If you have ever wanted to be best friends with Kaling, then this is the book for you. The takeaway from this book is not only that Mindy Kaling is just like us, but that we can be just like her.