Is it getting old when I say that I’ve had a book for months but haven’t read it? My parents got me Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes for Christmas 2017. It felt odd not starting 2018 reading it, so I had to postpone until 2019. That’s logic, right?
I didn’t read much about the book before I started reading it. My assumption was that it would be more directed advice for living a positive year. However, it was more like a memoir, and it was so much better than I thought it would be!
Who is Shonda Rhimes?
If you don’t know her name, you almost certainly know a television show she’s worked on. Shonda Rhimes is the brain behind shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder. Grey’s is a bit too bloody for me, but I’m a BIG fan of Scandal.
Shonda is at her sister’s for Thanksgiving one year when her sister makes a comment about how Shonda doesn’t say yes to anything. It sticks with her. Then, she’s instructed that she’s to attend the Kennedy Center Honors one year as a guest of Barak and Michelle Obama. Instructed, not asked. After some reflection, she realizes that she would have said no if asked. I repeat:
She would have said no to attending the Kennedy Center Honors. In the box with Barak and Michelle Obama. When they were in office.
Then, she decides to embark on her “Year of Yes“. Whenever asked if she would do something, whether that was playing with her children or give a commencement speech, she had to agree to do it. After more than a year doing it, she had seen such positive changes in her life that it’s become her way of life, and not a challenge for herself.
Year of Yes: My Favorite Parts
I definitely don’t deface books. I’ve invested almost heavily in an assortment of Post-It flags so that I can be sure I don’t lose my favorite passages, but my books stay in perfect condition. I utilized quite a few while reading Year of Yes.
This Yes is about giving yourself the permission to shift the focus of what is a priority from what’s good for you over to what makes you feel good.
Year of Yes, Page 123
I am smart, I am talented, I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and I work really, really hard.
Don’t call me lucky.
Call me a badass.
Year of Yes, Page 181
No is a complete sentence.
Year of Yes, Page 222
This was my absolute favorite page in the entire book.
In the end, I absolutely loved Year of Yes and can’t recommend it enough. I read it in three short sittings, so it’s a quick read. Maybe it’s even enough to make you jumpstart your year of reading and your year of yes.
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