This book was so special.  I really loved being in the mind of this male (Pat) who sees the bright side of all of his predicaments.  This tale of mental illness is candid and takes the perspective of the person who is ill and gives us an empathetic view of what it would be like to be in the situation of everyone looking at you like you’re crazy.  I think that anyone who has been in love can understand his breaking point and understand his reaction, even if it isn’t the way we would behave.  I enjoyed the football analogy, sharing the highs and lows of winning and losing as we do in our lives.  It mirrors the ebb and flow of mental illness where the smallest thing can really make a huge difference and change the tide of a game or a life.  This story also vaguely touches on mental illness as a hereditary trait.  I find that the main characters father is just as mentally ill as his son but because he is the big tough guy, no one actually identifies it as mentally ill. The father displays some actions that if they are just taken one level higher would equivocate to the son’s major outburst that sent him to the mental hospital.  I also enjoy the relationship between Pat and Tiffany.  It is so dysfunctional that it is his best fit.  Tiffany is the only other person that can understand him.

What do you think of the song that triggers the main characters outbursts?  Would it upset you?  Why?

Do you think the mother is an enabler to her son?  To her husband?

What is the purpose of the dance competition?  Who benefits most from it?

Will Pat ever be truly “cured”?

What did you think of Tiffany’s ruse?

Did you feel that the movie did justice to this book?

Can I just say how much I adore this girl?!?!?  Yes, I have a girl crush on Mindy Kaling…at least according to my hubby.  She is funny (literally laugh out loud funny), talented, smart, witty, successful AND pretty!  What’s not to love and envy????  I have always enjoyed her writing and characters on The Office and The Mindy Kaling Project.  So, when I saw her book “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)”.  I knew it was next on my reading list.  I am glad I did because it is the funniest book and had me laughing in the middle of the night in my bed which disrupted the hubby’s snoring cycle.  Her story about growing up really mirrored part of my upbringing.  We are both from an ethnic background but raised totally Americanized.  I really enjoyed her journey through childhood that had her parents reeling her in to her traditional roots but she fought back for her pop culture desires.  She is a successful person and deals with some glass ceiling issues in this funny biographical tale.

What do you think of her writing?

What do you think of her personality?

In a humorous way, she deals with the naysayers of being a successful ethnic woman who doesn’t fit the norms of Hollywood, how do you feel she handles it?  Do you admire/admonish her for it?

Do you have experience with the tug between being from a “traditional” culture and embracing pop-culture?  What is your perspective?

Do you want to read her next book?