What if only kind of knowing your family’s heritage is actually kind of lame? For Mindy Kaling, the number one bestselling author of Why Not Me?, the search for an answer begins with an Edible Arrangement of chocolate-covered strawberries and a Hindu priest.

Like Kelly Kapoor on The Office, Mindy is engaged with her Indian heritage to the extent that it is fun and convenient. So apart from a tolerance for spicy foods and an appreciation for Ravi Shankar, Mindy isn’t all that Hindu. Her daughter’s Jewish godfather—TV and film’s B.J. Novak—prompts her to reconsider her religious beliefs and ask herself: How Indian do I want my daughter to be?

From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Read or listen to them in a single sitting. Either way, they’re pitch-perfect.

Freaked out by her fortieth birthday, the creator and executive producer of Never Have I Ever reflects on the importance of good friends—and the mortifying obligations it takes to keep them.

Yes, Mindy Kaling is the genial Hollywood celebrity who posted twelve selfies from a single Oscar party, but that smile took work. In this hilariously honest essay, Mindy reflects on the social anxiety that she traces back to the slices of white cheese her parents served at her ninth birthday party. Little has changed in thirty years—least of all the fear of being judged forever. It’s probably best to just back away.

From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Read or listen to them in a single sitting. Either way, they’re pitch-perfect.

After a friend real-talks Mindy into hiring a baby nurse, she finds the help she needs—and so much more—in this soulful essay by the acclaimed writer, actress, producer, and director.

Becoming a new mother after losing her own, Mindy Kaling needs help—like someone to answer the questions What is a baby, and why don’t they have kneecaps? Enter Rose. The in-demand, dedicated baby nurse alleviates Mindy’s fears, from the minor to the profound.

From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Read or listen to them in a single sitting. Either way, they’re pitch-perfect.

A totally relatable essay on showing up to adult life alone, by the singular (and single) writer, producer, and star of Late Night.

In lieu of a perfect, hypothetical future husband, Mindy Kaling is thinking a lot about being single. Pros? She can marathon any Christine Baranski show she wants. Cons? Dealing with married couples and their condescension at cocktail parties. But until a gorgeous, morally flawless, preferably tall TV dad materializes in three dimensions, Mindy can cope with waiting it out (from the driver’s seat).

From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Read or listen to them in a single sitting. Either way, they’re pitch-perfect.

All Mindy Kaling wants is a night out…but what does the scary stranger in the driver’s seat of her ride want? Find out in a nerve-racking minidrama by the New York Times bestselling author of Why Not Me?

When Mindy and her best friend, B.J. Novak, are approached on a dark street by a Charles Manson–esque character, naturally they’re unnerved. Turns out he’s a huge fan of The Office! Now Mindy’s feeling a little judgy. But the night is young, unseasonably hot, and getting weirder. Mindy and B.J.’s brief encounter with the drifter is about to take an unexpected turn in Sunset Junction.

From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Read or listen to them in a single sitting. Either way, they’re pitch-perfect.