Yes Please is Amy Poehler‘s first book, and what a corker it is. I loved this book. I mean, really loved it. Yes, I know this review is starting to look like a gushing fan letter and not a proper review but a woman like Amy Poehler can do that to you. I loved her on Saturday Night Live and Parks And Recreations. The book starts off with Poehler talking about how hard writing a book is:
“Everyone lies about writing. They lie about how easy it is or how hard it was…No one tells the truth about writing a book…the truth is, writing a book is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit. It has been like hacking away at a freezer with a screwdriver.”
She goes on to talk about how she wrote the book on set, when her children were sleep, at airports and even on the notes section on her iPhone. It is a corking start and everyone who has ever written a book will relate to it. Poehler goes on to talk about improvisation, sexism, marriage, divorce, pregnancy and motherhood. She is a hard-working, talented woman who has gone for what she wants and knows that she is worth it. Amy Poehler leaned in. Amy Poehler is the coolest woman in the world. Well, she may have to share her crown with best friend Tina Fey but you get the point.
The book is split into three parts: Say Whatever You Want, Do Whatever You Like and Be Whoever You Are. A lot of the book is advice like ‘treat your career like a bad boyfriend’ but all of the book is well-written and funny. I rushed through the book and nothing else mattered while I was reading it. Hence why I did not go to sleep that night until 4am. This book is a must read for both men and women. There is definitely a reason it is on the Amazon Bestseller List: it rocks.
After reading this book I felt inspired, happy and thoroughly entertained. This is the non-fiction book of the year. I love, love, love it. I am pretty sure you will to. You can buy it here.