I took a much-needed break from Outlander-ing last week to enjoy Amy Poehler’s Yes Please for a second time — this time on audiobook. I’m happy to say it’s still a great book, and the audio version was a lot of fun.
“Hopefully as you get older, you start to learn how to live with your demon. It’s hard at first. Some people give their demon so much room that there is no space in their head or bed for love. They feed their demon and it gets really strong and then it makes them stay in abusive relationships or starve their beautiful bodies. But sometimes, you get a little older and get a little bored of the demon. Through good therapy and friends and self-love you can practice treating the demon like a hacky, annoying cousin. Maybe a day even comes when you are getting dressed for a fancy event and it whispers, “You aren’t pretty,” and you go, “I know, I know, now let me find my earrings.” Sometimes you say, “Demon, I promise you I will let you remind me of my ugliness, but right now I am having hot sex so I will check in later.”
That’s a really long quote, but it’s my favorite from the whole book. I did enjoy the parts where Poehler joked around, and had Seth Meyer edit her stories, and made fun of herself and her friends. But her really down-to-earth and honest stories hit me really hard. This book is brave — she reveals a lot about her personal life while also managing to keep certain things private. Her advice on keeping the demon of low self esteem away was wonderful.
I highly recommend the audio version. She sounds like she’s having a blast. At various points, Kathleen Turner, Ian McKellen and Carol Burnett read chapter titles. Her parents read a chapter. And Seth Meyers joins her to make snarky comments for a bit. It just makes it even more fun.
What a fantastic quote! This has been on my list for a while, but I think that lovely bit of writing sold me.