Yes Please
Amy Poehler's candid and funny reflections on comedy, career, and creative life
Overview
Yes Please by Amy Poehler is a memoir and advice book that covers her journey through improv at UCB, her time on SNL, and her role as Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation. The book is candid, funny, and surprisingly vulnerable about the creative process.
Poehler shares lessons from her improv training, including the power of saying yes and the importance of ensemble over ego. She also writes honestly about the challenges of balancing ambition, motherhood, and the demands of a career in comedy.
How It Works
Inspiring for actors and comedians who want to learn from one of the most successful improvisers of her generation. Her emphasis on community and collaboration offers a refreshing alternative to the solo-career mindset.
Available in paperback, hardcover, audiobook, and digital formats, typically priced between $12-15. The audiobook features guest readers and additional material.
Who Uses It
Recommended for actors who value the ensemble approach and want career inspiration from a performer who built success through collaboration, hard work, and unwavering commitment to her craft. Poehler's trajectory from UCB co-founder to SNL Weekend Update anchor to Golden Globe-nominated actress demonstrates how improv skills can build a remarkably versatile career. Her writing about the creative process is refreshingly honest about the difficulty of making things, the self-doubt that accompanies creative work, and the importance of showing up and doing the work even when inspiration is absent. The book has resonated particularly strongly with performers who feel the pressure to have a perfect plan for their careers and need permission to embrace uncertainty.
Pricing & Plans
Yes Please is available in paperback for approximately $12 to $15, hardcover for around $16 to $20, and digital editions for about $11 to $13. The audiobook is particularly notable — priced around $15 to $20 or included with an Audible subscription — as it features guest appearances by Seth Meyers, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner, and other performers who read selected passages, making it feel like a collaborative performance rather than a standard audiobook. Used paperback copies are widely available for under $5. The book was a massive bestseller upon its 2014 release and remains widely stocked at libraries, making it easy to access for free as well. For the combination of entertainment value and genuine career insight, it represents excellent value at any price point.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Yes Please excels in its authentic, unfiltered portrayal of the creative life — Poehler does not sugarcoat the difficulties of building a career in comedy and entertainment, which makes her successes feel earned and her advice feel trustworthy. Her emphasis on the UCB community and the power of ensemble work offers a genuinely different model of success than the solo-star narrative that dominates most entertainment memoirs. The audiobook's collaborative format, with celebrity guest readers, is innovative and entertaining, making it one of the most enjoyable audiobook experiences available. Poehler's writing about the importance of apologizing, being kind, and supporting other performers provides a refreshing ethical framework for career building. The book's candid discussion of work-life balance, motherhood, and creative ambition addresses topics that many entertainment industry books ignore entirely. Her chapter on saying yes to opportunities while also learning to say no is practically useful advice that transcends the entertainment industry.
What Could Be Better
The book's non-linear, collage-like structure — which includes lists, letters, and contributions from other writers — can feel disjointed and may frustrate readers who prefer a straightforward narrative arc. Some sections feel more like extended comedy bits than substantive career advice, and the ratio of entertainment to practical instruction tilts heavily toward entertainment. Poehler herself acknowledges in the book that writing was difficult for her, and some passages feel less polished than her performance work. The book is light on specific, actionable career advice — readers looking for a practical guide to breaking into comedy or building an acting career will need to supplement it with other resources. Some of the cultural and political references are specific to the early 2010s and have not aged as well as the more timeless career insights. The guest-written sections, while sometimes entertaining, can break the flow and feel like filler.
Our Recommendation
Yes Please is recommended for actors and comedians who want an entertaining, honest look at how one of the most beloved performers in modern comedy built her career from the ground up. It is particularly valuable for performers who are drawn to the ensemble and community model of career building rather than the solo-star approach. If you are looking for practical, step-by-step career guidance, this book alone will not provide it — pair it with a more strategic resource like Self-Management for Actors by Bonnie Gillespie. If you enjoy Poehler's voice, her podcast and UCB-related interviews offer additional insight into her creative philosophy. For a similar reading experience from another comedy icon, Tina Fey's Bossypants and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me make natural companion reads.
Pro Tips
Start with the audiobook version — the guest readers and Poehler's own performance make it a significantly richer experience than the print edition alone. Pay particular attention to her writing about the early UCB days and the founding of the company — these sections contain the most transferable insights about building creative communities and collaborative artistic ventures. Use Poehler's 'yes and' philosophy as a filter for evaluating career opportunities: does this opportunity build on what I am already doing and move me forward? Take her advice about apologizing and supporting fellow performers seriously — these interpersonal skills are career-defining in a collaborative industry. If Poehler's path inspires you, look into UCB's training programs, which continue to operate in multiple cities and online. Revisit the book during periods of creative doubt or career frustration — Poehler's honesty about her own struggles is genuinely reassuring.