9 Things We Learned From Amy Poehler’s ‘Yes Please’
4. A lot of her funniest SNL memories seem to involve Will Forte.
Saturday Night Live’s loose atmosphere is legendary, but Forte sounds like he really ran with it. He writes naked at his desk, he smacks a long-awaited late-night dinner out of a colleague’s hands as soon as it’s delivered, and he and Amy doodle penises throughout a sexual harassment presentation. There’s tons of SNL behind-the-scenes gold in here, though: Antonio Banderas was the best-smelling host; John Goodman was Amy’s personal favorite guest; and longtime writer Paula Pell “was usually the funniest person in the room. Or Fred Armisen. Unless Baldwin was there.”
5. “How does she do it all?” By never sleeping, basically. Also: nannies!
Lots of working parents use nannies, but it’s not often your hear celebrities talk about it at length. Amy calls her current nanny her “wife,” and openly praises the three women who’ve helped take care of Archie and Abel, Poehler’s sons with Arnett. “They are wonderful teachers and caretakers and my children’s lives are richer because they are part of our family,” Poehler writes. She also says her secret to being so productive is being a “bad sleeper” from babyhood straight through age 43 — a concept that gets its own chapter.
6. Amy Poehler’s parents are amazing.
Eileen and Bill Poehler get much more than a token mention in Yes Please. Their supportive, stable presence pervades the entire book, including a section where they each contribute a written reflection on their daughter’s birth. In a chapter called “Parents Just Do Understand,” we get long lists of the many life lessons Amy learned from each one of them. Included: “have male friends,” “have more female friends,” and “girls can do anything boys can do.”
7. Amy Poehler has an immaculate Amy Poehler archive, and she’s happy to share.
There’s a scrapbook quality to Yes Please that both fills and breaks up the chapters. You get to enjoy a variety of old photos, a poem about death by 13-year-old Amy, a kindergarten report card, a two-page spread of Upright Citizens Brigade memorabilia, assorted email exchanges, a newspaper clipping featuring Amy as Dorothy in a school production of The Wizard of Oz, and a happy birthday letter from Hillary Clinton to baby Archie. There’s also a section with haikus about botox and plastic surgery. Sample: “Hey, shooting poison / In your face does not keep you / From turning 50.”