Book Review: “Yes Please”

Book thirty five of my 2019 Reading Challenge.

Amy Poehler’s Yes Please

I didn’t think I’d like non-fiction and biographies in particular but with this reading challenge I wanted to try some new things. Amy Poehler’s biography about her life as a comedian and mom was one that I enjoyed a lot. I mean, who doesn’t like comedy? Add some candid writing from one of the best female comedians of this time and you have a greatly unique read.

Yes Please is Poehler’s autobiography about her life before comedy, her marriage (and divorce) and of course her life now as a working comedian and mother. Her style of writing is very blog-like with little quips and real honest writing which is always a great touch in my opinion. If a celebrity is going to write their own book it needs to show their character through the writing and I think Poehler did exactly that. I really felt like I knew her because of those little “breaks in character”.

Some of her stories from before SNL and stardom were so real and made me respect her as a celebrity. I always respect a celebrity more when I see or read about how hard they worked to get to where they are now. Of course reading about these little skits she did with other “not yet discovered comedians” and other things like the Upright Citizens Brigade made me fall down a YouTube rabbit hole of old videos after reading a chapter. So in addition to getting to read the book, I also got to watch a few standup routines and SNL skits.

The other side of her book parallel to her career is her personal life. Poehler talks openly about her life as a mother and as someone who has been divorced and it shows how celebrities have lives outside of their career that you don’t normally see. Right now, as a young adult, I like reading about other peoples’ lives because it gives me different perspectives and lets me take in life lessons that other people have learned. And that includes non-fiction and fictional stories. And obviously when it’s a real person’s story and lessons learned, it’s more impactful.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that’s a fan of Amy Poehler. Her writing is from the heart and genuinely candid and fun(ny) to read.

Stay tuned for my next review: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu