What I Learned from Zarna Garg

Hi friends — Deb here.

I’ll be honest, I walked into our event with Zarna Garg expecting to laugh. And oh boy, I did — my cheeks hurt by the end. But what surprised me was how much I learned in between the punchlines.

Zarna is living proof that laughter isn’t just entertainment — it’s medicine. It’s resilience. It’s survival.

Lesson 1: Failure Can Be Funny

When Zarna sat down with moderator Farnoosh Torabi, she had just gotten the news that a sitcom pilot she was developing at a major network had been cancelled. For most of us, that would feel devastating. For Zarna? She joked about it. She turned the sting of disappointment into a story that had us all laughing.

And then she casually dropped the fact that she’s started 15 businesses — all of which failed. (Fifteen!) But instead of hiding those losses, she treated them like badges of honor, proof of her persistence. Her secret weapon? A devoted husband who cheered her on no matter what.

It made me rethink the way I carry my own setbacks — maybe the problem isn’t the failure, maybe it’s the story I’m telling myself about it.

Lesson 2: The Hardest Stories Can Lead to the Brightest Stages

Zarna’s memoir, This American Woman: One in a Billion, is both hilarious and heartbreaking. She lost her mother at just 14. She was pressured into an arranged marriage. As a teenager, she fled Mumbai for Ohio, where she lived with her sister.

She went on to earn a finance degree and a law degree. She built a family. She was a stay-at-home mom for 16 years. And then one day, her kids encouraged her to get up on stage at an open mic in the basement of a Mexican restaurant in New York City. (How’s that for an origin story?)

Fast forward: she wins Kevin Hart’s comedy competition, releases a Prime Video special, and tours with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. That’s not just a career pivot — that’s a life pivot.

Lesson 3: Humor is Healing

Zarna doesn’t use humor to hide from her pain. She uses it to process it, to connect with others, to move forward. It’s not about ignoring the hard stuff — it’s about refusing to let the hard stuff have the last word.

It reminded me that laughter is not frivolous. It’s a life-saving force.

What I’m Taking With Me

Zarna taught me that humor is a form of courage. It’s the decision to keep going, to connect, and to choose joy even when life hands you anything but.

Try This at Home

Here’s your homework (and mine):

The next time you’re frustrated, disappointed, or embarrassed, try writing your story like a comedy set. Exaggerate it. Make it ridiculous. Find the punchline. Even if you’re the only one who ever reads it, you’ll feel lighter.

Because sometimes, the best medicine really is a good laugh.

With gratitude (and giggles),

Deb