Yes Please

I was hooked the moment I started to read Amy Poehler's new book Yes Please. But I bought this book on a whim. I haven't watched SNL on a regular basis since I was in college. I've never seen an episode of Parks and Recreation (although it may end up on my Netflix list soon). And even though we both graduated in the 80s, I'm a tad older than Ms. Poehler. I was drawn to her book for two reasons: 1. I knew I could expect more than a few laughs. 2. She's from Boston and we stick with our own. Whether or not homegrown celebs are making it or breaking it, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Mark Walberg, Steve Carell, and Ellen Pompeo, to name a few, will always be among my list of favorites.

So, I sat down to read this book and had no idea what else to expect. Just check out the back cover alone to get a sense of what you're in for. Were there laughs? A ton. Was it quirky? Absolutely. But it was also filled with beautiful sentiments and poignant stories. There are no seamless segues from one chapter to the next, she just dives right in and goes! Here are a few of my favorites.

As she regales her college years, she admits that she (like the rest of us) had no idea what she really wanted to do once she was finished.

"Instead of asking students to 'declare their major' we should ask students to 'list what

they will do anything to avoid.' It just makes sense."

On comedy and human emotion after finding out her ob-gyn just died while shooting SNL the day before she's about to deliver her first child.

         "Going from crying to laughing that fast and hard happens maybe five times in your

life and that extreme right turn is the reason we are alive, and I believe it extends our

life by many years."

Seth Meyers writes a chapter. There's a printed birthing plan. Her parents chime in. There are letters, emails, snippets of scripts, and a list of reasons why we cry on an airplane. It's real and raw and incredibly entertaining.

What are you reading?