I fell in love with Amy Poehler about a year ago. I was introduced by a friend to a show called "Parks & Recreation," I have since seen all six seasons, watching most episodes multiple times. Amy Poehler stars as Leslie Knope, quite possibly the most lovable and endearing, yet hilarious, character to ever be written. Once I met Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, I couldn’t get enough. When Poehler’s book, "Yes Please" came out, though, I was slightly hesitant.
I'm a media junkie. I love television, movies, music, books, gifs, you name it. I also love to follow celebrities on social media and feel like I know them in person. However, this is a dangerous game that I play because they are human and they make mistakes. I know that in my heart, but it still hurts my feelings when someone I look up to and adore cheats on their significant other or says something terrible. I was worried I would be introduced to a new Amy Poehler, a Poehler that shattered my view of her. I sucked it up, though, and purchased the book, promising myself it was all going to be OK. Having now completed said book, I will tell you, I have never been so pleasantly surprised by a book in my life.
As a lover of fiction, I typically find memoirs boring, but I could not put "Yes Please" down. I felt like I was sitting and talking with this hilarious woman over coffee as the chapters shifted from stories of her childhood to college adventures to stories about her friends and her own children. Every sentence, every word, was authentic. Nothing was sugar-coated or edited for publicity, it was all real. Poehler wrote not only about her triumphs but about her painful short-comings. She wrote about her social anxiety, her divorce, her struggle with being too wrapped up herself, all while still managing to make me laugh.
The things Poehler says about her friends, her coworkers and her children could bring tears to the eyes of the most critical of readers. She dedicates an entire section to her "P&R" cast, detailing her favorite moments with each person. She talks about how she met Seth Myers and Tina Turner while she was barely getting by in a run-down apartment on the bad side of Chicago. She talks about how beautiful her children are while still addressing her battle with postpartum depression. She is real, and she is wonderful. She even thanks her ex-husband, Will Arnett, for being a good father to their two sons, Abel and Archie.
I think one of the most important chapters, though, is towards the end when Poehler details the time she spent working in orphanages in Haiti. She is painfully honest about her ulterior motives for the trip. She talks about how she spent time on the trip emailing friends about the Golden Globes while children starved in the streets outside. She recognizes that she’s not a saint, but she works every day to be better. Poehler writes about returning and says:
“I gave [my sons] a bath and put lotion on their skin. I realized how lucky my life is. And theirs. I lay in bed and thought about time and pain, and how many different people live under the same big, beautiful moon.”
I am better for having read "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler. I didn’t think it was possible to like her more, but she has proved me wrong. Overall, I highly recommend this book and give a solid 15 stars out of five.
