#ELbookclub Dec 2021 pick
For the choice of the final book for 2021 this one was a fantastic option. This is certainly one I listened to the audiobook, and Shonda does not disappoint. A Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes, chronicles how the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder starting saying YES and how it absolutely changed her life.
She’s a brilliant storyteller, which is more than evident through her television creations, but there is something intimate about the way she becomes vulnerable within the pages of this book. Shonda‘s journey to a year of yes came from a comment by her sister that changed her life inevitably for the better. While I can’t imagine parenting alone because of how incredible my husband is, I can certainly relate to the stress and the pressures of handling motherhood in one hand and a big, powerful, and successful career in the other. Sometimes it’s very difficult to be the only one with the final say, and the one that’s in charge of everyone else’s livelihoods both at home and in the office. It’s easy to lose yourself, and it’s easy to forget that in this game of “balance“ there is some thing that always gives. And often time that some thing is our health and well-being.
For me, it’s long been a struggle in the past almost 6 years to battle the thoughts that come that tell me I am selfish for ever taking time to focus on myself – to go to the gym, to get my nails done, or even get my haircut. Putting myself first in this avenue is often a struggle, but I know that when I do I’m significantly better for all those in my care. When I’m the best version of me, I can be the best possible mom, wife, and boss. Shonda’s story resonates here in this year of yes, taking back her health and becoming the very best version of herself.
“Losing yourself does not happen all at once,” writes Rhimes. “Losing yourself happens one no at a time. No to going out tonight. No to catching up with that old college roommate. No to attending that party. No to going on a vacation. No to making a new friend. Losing yourself happens one pound at a time. The more I worked, the more stressed I was. The more stressed I was, the more I ate.” The answer for Rhimes was deciding to live by the rule of yes.
Shonda brings such a relatable quality to her writing that it’s much more like having coffee with a friend than listening to the creator of Shondaland. She has manifested so many memorable characters that seem so intertwined into the social narrative in this country, that it’s often hard to remember that she herself has the same kinds of struggles.
This was a quick and easy listen, and I would certainly recommend it to all the working mamas that I know! Hell, all the mamas, and all the women who work too regardless of whether or not those two worlds coincide. There’s a reason this lady owns Thursday nights.
