I like Shonda Rhimes. I’ve watched Grey’s Anatomy since the beginning, I’m enjoying How to Get Away with Murder, and I even, lord help me, stuck with Private Practice till the end. I’m not sure how I missed Scandal, but I’m sure I’ll catch up someday. So I was intrigued when a friend gave me Shonda’s Year of Yes. I like all her shows, and now, I want to hang out with her.
Shonda is a problematic thing to be: a famous introvert. When people clamor for her to give speeches and attend fancy parties, she declines and retreats to her couch, like many of us would probably do. A nudge from her sister gets her thinking about her life and the fact that she says no to everything, so she vows to say yes to everything for a year. The results change her life.
It’s cool to go along with her on her journey, as she learns to overcome her fears, learning to talk to and in front of people, and to enjoy her own company. She’s honest and awesome and I just wanted to give her a hug for most of the book. It was a delightful read, but it goes on a liiiiiittle too long. Her journey is amazing, and I’m glad it worked out so well for her, but chapter after chapter after chapter of “I said yes to X and it worked out great!” gets a little repetitive. I realize that sounds horrible, and it might be that I’m not used to reading memoir-type books, but I think she could’ve skipped a few chapters.
Overall, though, it was a powerful read and a good lesson to all us introverts. And it made me like her shows even better.