“Saying “yes” doesn’t mean I don’t know how to say no, and saying “please” doesn’t mean I am waiting for permission.”

I read and reviewed Yes, Please when it first came out in 2014; in my review I specifically cite the pictures Poehler shares as a highlight (celebrity voyerism is one of my passions) but after the joys of Eddie Izzard’s audio-book I thought I’d revisit memoirs I enjoyed in audio-book form to see if they had similar payoffs.

I wish I could go back and change my cbr6 review from 5 Stars to 4 so I could give the audio book a higher mark. (I also wish I could delete it and many of my other early reviews for sheer bad writing and minimal insights).

“You can only move if you are actually in the moment. You have to be where you are to get where you need to go.”

Amy is a gem. She is funny and smart and self aware. She seems both accessible and aspirational. She expertly weaves advice, memoir and observation together to create a book for both women and men. She also managed to tow the line between opening up (her drug use and how she gushed about her children) and keeping some thing to herself (the bigger details regarding her divorce). I especially loved her honesty about ‘The Pudding’ and how her classic award show bits came from a desire to distract her from the award itself.

“Ambivalence is key [to success]. You have to care about your work but not about the result. You have to care about how good you are and how good you feel, but not about how good people think you are or how good people think you look.”

The only parts that don’t hold up in a reread are her several mentions about Louis CK, which are a bit cringe worthy in a post ‘Can I masturbate in front of you’ #metoo 2018.

Amy isn’t just a writer though. She is a performer and her delivery elevates an already excellent book to new levels. She has wonderful timing and inflection. She also has friends in high places, getting Kathleen Turner to read her darker passages and Patrick Stewart to read her plastic surgery haikus along with cameos (and banter!) from Michael Shur, Seth Meyers and Carol Burnett. She also reads her last chapter in front of an Upright Citizen’s Brigade audience which was a fun note to end on.

Even though Amy probably won’t write a follow up to Yes, Please (she hated writing a book) I will continue hoping she changes her mind.