Yes Please is not a traditional memoir that starts from her birth and ends with her present. Instead, it's an eclectic hodgepodge of remembrances, essays, childhood stories, grown-up advice, silly poems, inane acrostics, and even guest essays from Amy's friends, who contributed some stories so she would have less writing to do. Poehler is very upfront of the sheer pain of writing a book - it was not a task that came easy and appears to have been executed in stolen moments of sheer exhaustion. Yet she has crafted a combination of tales that made me laugh out loud, gave me a lump in my throat, or just made me stop and think for a bit.
Together with Tina Fey's Bossypants, and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Yes Please completes the trilogy of memoirs by my most-adored TV comediennes. Amy Poehler's book did make me more contemplative than the others - there are some sadder tales mixed in, as well as much more unapologetic feminist rhetoric that reminded me of Fey and Poehler's iconic Weekend Update segment about how "Bitches get stuff done." The backstage stories about Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation are fantastic, and her long history of improv with Second City and UCB is equally impressive. She has done some wonderful things and it's enlightening to read about the behind-the-scenes experiences that formed the woman we all watch on our screens today.
In Yes Please, Poehler comes off as a fearless, BS-intolerant woman with a fierce work ethic and full awareness of her strengths and weaknesses. She understands how privileged she is as a blonde white lady in America, yet she still shares some universal truths about being an ambitious working woman and proffers solid advice about how to be happier with yourself and your life. So pick up a copy of her book, start flipping through the pages, and learn how to embrace the Poehler motto of, "Yes Please."
No comments:
Post a Comment