In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.
“That is the motto women should constantly repeat over and over again. Good for her! Not for me.”
“I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they “want to do” and start asking them what they don’t want to do. Instead of asking students to “declare their major” we should ask students to “list what they will do anything to avoid.” It just makes a lot more sense.”
“The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are.”
“Hopefully as you get older, you start to learn how to live with your demon. It’s hard at first. Some people give their demon so much room that there is no space in their head or bed for love. They feed their demon and it gets really strong and then it makes them stay in abusive relationships or starve their beautiful bodies. But sometimes, you get a little older and get a little bored of the demon. Through good therapy and friends and self-love you can practice treating the demon like a hacky, annoying cousin. Maybe a day even comes when you are getting dressed for a fancy event and it whispers, “You aren’t pretty,” and you go, “I know, I know, now let me find my earrings.” Sometimes you say, “Demon, I promise you I will let you remind me of my ugliness, but right now I am having hot sex so I will check in later.”
“It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and seize your real estate.”
“It’s never overreacting to ask for what you want and need.”
“A person’s tragedy does not make up their entire life. A story carves deep grooves into our brains each time we tell it. But we aren’t one story. We can change our stories. We can write our own.”
Ok, honestly I could quote this book all day. I literally have pages of quotes from this book. I think I may have just copied most of this book onto paper. I think Mindy Kaling says it best when she said:
“Everyone has a moment when they discover they love Amy Poehler.”
― Mindy Kaling, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
I am not a lover of biographies TBH they usually aren’t my thing. I however have been a huge fan of Amy Poehler since SNL and Leslie Knope is beyond wonderful. That is a show (Like The Office) that no matter how many times I’ve seen an episode if its on I’m watching it. Amy Poehler is talented, hilarious, and a beautiful person. This book is so very her. It made me laugh, cry, and think. Some of it full stories and some of it closer to ramblings that are nothing but exactly right. I love that she owes who she is or tries her best to. Love that shes not perfect and doesn’t try to be.
Even if you’ve read this book, it’s honestly not enough. To get everything from this book you have to listen to the audio! It adds so much to this book and everything said and lets be honest, even more hilarious. Most of my books I listen to on 1.5x or 2x speed Yes Please is the first book I’ve listened to on regular speed which is usually way too slow anymore.
Anyway, Amy Poehler’s Yes please is a hilarious, entertaining, heatfelt and real view no only of the wonderful woman she is but of the people around her and the world in general. I consider Yes Please not only a must read but as I said a must listen. This may open me to reading more memoirs…at least by the funny people…we will see. I can say Bossypants is on the list without a doubt.
Audible | Amazon | Barnes&Noble
Two Girls and a Book Obsession 