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In celebration of Women’s History Month, BookPal is highlighting successful actress, and author of Yes Please, Amy Poehler.

When I heard Amy Poehler was coming out with a book, I preordered it. No hesitation — I knew it had to be read. Having read Tina Fey’s Bossy Pants and loving every second of it, I knew Poehler would deliver the same quantity of laughs amidst personal stories and words to live by.

Yet, that isn’t to say Yes Please is a sequel to Bossy Pants. While both women are smart, funny, strong, Improv geniuses, faithful friends and amazing mothers (did I mention they’re my heroes?), Poehler’s unique voice is unapologetic and honest. Yes Please isn’t a tell-all book about her divorce from Will Arnett or all the secret habits of the Saturday Night Live cast, although Poehler does reserve a chapter to discuss all the great things about her Parks and Rec castmates (in true Leslie Knope fashion). Instead, this book is a comedic manifesto to what women are thinking about, or should be thinking about.

She lays out the title right in the beginning:

“‘Yes please’ sounds powerful and concise. It’s a response and a request. It is not about being a good girl; it is about being a real woman.” (xix)

Poehler admits early on that writing Yes Please was daunting. Since Poehler is used to playing someone else, it doesn’t come as a surprise that honing her own voice was difficult. Her struggle exemplifies how most women are accustomed to playing a number of different roles — whether it be mother, friend, or business woman — so finding our identity in all that needs to be worked on daily.

Unafraid to yell, talk in with a Boston accent, or admit to some of her more embarrassing auditions and Improv mistakes, Yes Please allows the reader to see the many facets and dimensions women can have. Poehler admits to the struggle women have finding balance. The balance between saying sorry way too much, for things no woman should feel sorry for and screaming at a stranger on an airplane when you’ve just had enough.

Yes Please speaks to those inner demons women hear since childhood. That voice that tells you you’re not pretty enough, or not good enough. Poehler pushes back against that voice and shows it who's boss. Fighting that voice means finding what you’re proud of, what makes you you, and never apologizing for it.

While Poehler speaks from the female perspective, that isn’t to say men should push aside Yes Please. She speaks of the love for her sons and her experiences with the men who have constantly surrounded her career, like Seth Meyers. And really, Yes Please is for anyone who likes to laugh and be inspired (and also maybe likes pictures of Amy Poehler in fun wigs).

With Poehler’s inspiring and witty voice, the book is both enjoyable and filled with useful advice. An ideal book for women in business, Yes Please is an empowering must-read that shows women the importance of being true to themselves.

This post was written by Sydney Moorhead, a customer service associate at BookPal. She is currently reading Work Rules by Laszlo Bock, Do Over by Jon Acuff, Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath and Stir by Jessica Fechtor.