Yes Please

☆☆☆☆/☆☆☆☆☆

I didn’t really watch SNL growing up, unless one of my favourite actors or singers was hosting, but that was the first place I saw Amy Poehler. It wasn’t until much later, when she had left SNL that I came to appreciate the hilarious woman that she is. From her award show hosting gigs to her films, and of course Parks and Recreation (which I discovered while it was in its sixth season!) she always makes me laugh.  She’s also one of the executive producers of one of my favourite shows—Broad City.

Yes Please had me smiling. It was great reading about her life pre and post SNL. It was refreshing to read about all of the hard work she put in to get where she is. I thoroughy enjoyed the behind the scene stories about her days on SNL and Parks and Rec,  and the funny anecdotes on her humble beginnings.

I also found her relatable. One of my favourite parts of the book is when  she talks about her “demon,” the negative voice she (and we all) has in her head that  makes her think negatively about herself— and how not to let it win. If you’re a fan  you will definitely enjoy this book.

Here are some of my favourite parts /quotes from the book:

• A part of Poehler’s  birthing plan : The birth environment is very important to us. For that reason we ask that the lights be kept dim, noise be avoided, and the door be closed for privacy. We would also like people to stay “chill” and not “bring their own shit” into the room with them. It’s really important we feel “cool.”

• Words of encouragement from Rosa, the cleaning lady: Don’t cry, sexy.

• About constantly saying sorry: It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for.

• A motto I plan to start living by: Good for her! Not for me.

• Bon Jovi is fit: Jon Bon Jovi went into his own archives and got out the actual outfit he had worn twenty years before during the Slippery When Wet Tour. It still fit. Jon Bon keeps it tight.

• On working in a restaurant where Oprah dropped in: …I turned to see Oprah at a table with what looked like a gaggle of producers. If my memory serves me correctly, she was giving them presents. I feel like it was diamond earrings. I want it to be true. I feel like Oprah pays all of her employees in diamonds and cashmere pyjamas.

• Career advice : Ambivalence is key. You have to care about your work but not about the result. You have to care about how good you are and how good you feel but not about how good people think you are or how good people think you look.

• What she’s learned from Hip-Hop: There’s nothing sexy about a baby that ain’t yours.