This short story is about Mindy who was pregnant at the time going on a dinner date with her friend and fellow actor B.J. Novak in Silverlake and the adventure that ensues. ( )

Anti-climactic
Review of the Amazon Original kindle eBook (2020)

A story of a dinner outing with author Kaling and her bff B.J. a fellow writer. Not really on a level with the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood teaser hint of the title, but a fun story nevertheless.

Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake is one of the six-part Nothing Like I Imagined collection of autobiographical short comedy essays by Mindy Kaling available through Amazon Originals. ( )

Nothing Like I Imagined

Since this is a collection of quick personal essays I’ve decided to review them all in one swoop anthology style.

Please Like Me (But Keep Away) - 4 Stars - This essay reviews the time when Mindy moved to LA to write for the office and had to find/make friends as an adult. A most daunting task indeed. She speaks of wanting a close group of girlfriends and even her experience in trying to join one and of how she somehow ended up with a male BFF. Making new friends as an adult is something I’ve yet to really be able to do though I will see my efforts have been less than minimal. I love my current tight knit friend group however I find being the only single, childless one to be alienating and I think it’s unfair to put more demands on their time than they already have but finding new people who I can demand spend time with is very difficult. I’ve said before that Mindy seems familiar and in this essay I see myself.

Kind of Hindu - 4.5 Stars - Something I’ve never considered about parenthood (because I haven’t had to) is religion. I’m sure as a member of a dominant religion I wouldn’t bat an eye at raising my child in a christian faith but what if said imaginary child had a father who was of a different faith. What would I do? So many questions that my mind starts to spin and I’ll save you the downward cycle but it’s an important responsibility. The story of her daughter’s Mundan ceremony is humorous from the outside but I’m sure traumatizing for both mama and daughter… and hair stylist. This is the kind of gem I’m happy she shared with the world. I feel like I learned something not only personal but cultural.

Help Is On the Way - 4 Stars - Admitting you need help is one of the hardest things to do as an adult. We make decisions and we feel like we should be able to handle the repercussions of these decisions. We follow the example our parents gave us and think we should be able to do it too. That is why Mindy struggles so hard with the decision of hiring a baby nurse. It’s nothing her mother would have done. It is nothing she was culturally raised to do but it turned out to be one of the best experiences of her life.

Searching for Coach Taylor - 4 Stars - In this essay we explore single parent pity and what it means to have a husband or partner. Mindy handles it with her trademark wit and grace but makes some other really great points about the things you give up or have to negotiate about too.

Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake - 3 Stars - A short, weird tale of a night out with her best friend BJ. I’m not sure what we are supposed to derive from the story. It a good party antidote though.

Big Shot - 4 Stars - Mindy shares a lesson she learned about generosity and expecting gratitude. She gives her readers endless curiosity over who “Max Davis” really is. She also shares a day in her life as a kind of bonus essay.

Wow the quality of these reviews really diminish. LOL ( )