Stuck in a rut? We review this intimate and honest call to action from one of Hollywood's most powerful women to see if it can provide the most useful of helping hands
‘No’ - a word which we’ve often been told holds the key to greater empowerment. However, could ‘Yes’ hold the key to greater life fulfilment? In Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes looks to put this theory to the test - and change her life in the process also.
The creator of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, Shonda Rhimes is one of the most respected names in television today. However, as a self-confessed introvert, she found panic attacks and crippling fear held her back from truly being able to enjoy life, and without realising, ‘No’ had become her default response to any invitations that came her way.
It was only one Thanksgiving morning that she received her wake-up call in the form of her sister Delorse. “You never say yes to anything,” she said and it was upon hearing this that Shonda decided to embark on a Year of Yes project in which she committed herself to making 'No' a thing of the past - no matter what.
Funny, relatable and eye-opening, Year of Yes will strike a chord with anyone whose fears, insecurities and low confidence prevents them from moving forward. Covering topics as diverse as parenting, self-esteem, getting married (and in fact, not wanting to) and the need to have difficult conversations, if you're feeling stuck in a rut, this book is certain to provide a strong helping hand for helping you get out of it and start seeing that invitation, opportunity or life experience in a whole new light.
Want to try before you buy? Here’s an extract from Year of Yes to whet your appetite...
Prologue
Full Frontal
“When it was first suggested to me that I write about this year, my first instinct was to say no.
Writing about myself feels a lot like I have just decided to stand up on a table in a very proper restaurant, raise my dress and show everyone that I’m not wearing panties.
That is to say, it feels shocking.
It puts the bits of me that I usually keep to myself on display.
Naughty bits.
Secret bits.
See, I am an introvert. Deep. To the bone. My marrow is introvert marrow. My snot is introvert snot. Every cell in my body screams continuously at me with every word I type that writing this book is an unnatural act.
A lady never shows her soul outside the boudoir.
Showing you a bit of full-frontal me makes me nervous and twitchy, like I have a rash in an unfortunate place. It makes me breathe really hard in a weird panicked dog-sounding way. It makes me laugh inappropriately in public spaces whenever I think about people reading it.
Writing this book makes me uncomfortable.
And that, dear reader, is the point. It’s the whole thing. Which is why I am writing it anyway. Despite the twitching and the laughing and the breathing.
Being too comfortable is what started all of this in the first place.
Well, being too comfortable plus hearing six startling words.
Plus turkey.”
Extracted from ‘Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes,’ published by Simon & Schuster, priced at £8.99. Buy online here .
Follow Shonda @shondarhimes and Ayesha @Ayesha_Muttu .