Author: Amy Poehler
Enjoyment Rating: ****
Source: personal copy
Content Alert: Some swearing
Amy Poehler is the shiz. She's a fantastic writer. She's hilariously funny. She is the voice of Joy. She started Smart Girls, a website I love. Apparently she's a pretty great waitress too. And she's basically my own age. Which means that I'd better get cracking. Although she'd never say that. In fact, she would tell me not to apologize for my life. Because one thing you learn from reading smart girls is that Amy does not like reflexive apologies (as in when someone steps on your toe and you say "sorry"). But she does like making real apologies (she talks about a beautiful experience that came from a long-overdue apology she made a few years ago). And she won't read your screenplay either, and she's not surprised at her success, because she put in years and years of hard work to get where she is.
Yes Please is part memoir, part essay, part self-help book, with pieces thrown in from people Poehler has worked with over the years. It's a strange little beast of a book, and I loved it. I really wish I had bought it as an audiobook, because I've heard that hearing her read the book makes it even better, but my sweet husband got me this for Valentine's Day (that's how big my backlog is!). My daughter Annie is 13 and she has been begging to read it, and even though it's a little racy in parts (it's pretty frank about drug use and acknowledges the existence of sex, and she's pretty liberal with the cussing), I really do want her to read it, because I want her to know what she should and shouldn't apologize for when she's 13, and not try to figure it out when she's 40. If you haven't read this one yet, you should. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and if you're like me, you'll start binge watching Parks and Rec so you can hang out with Poehler just a little longer.
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