Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person

The author and main figure of the memoir, Rhimes conveys both her strengths and her flaws throughout the book. In one respect, Rhimes lives a life that is unfamiliar to her readers due to her career: She interacts with well-known actors, writers, and other figures within the media daily. She is privileged to attend elegant events and engagement and interacts with world-renowned figures such as President Barack Obama and media mogul Oprah Winfrey. On the exterior, Rhimes comes across as a confident and powerful person, due in large part to the success her television shows and media company have achieved. Educated, intelligent, and well-liked, the memoir provides a deeper version of Rhimes’s complex inner life than what is often viewable from the outside.

Rhimes paints herself as a natural introvert—most comfortable when she is alone writing and fearful of many aspects of public and social interaction. Some of her insecurities stem from her feeling awkward and unattractive as a child. Yet, Rhimes, through the nurturing of loving parents and the privilege of a rich education, grew to a capable and skilled writer. Honing her craft was a natural pursuit for her, as her family has always valued ambition and success. It is this inner drive and motivation that Rhimes attributes much of her success too, noting that it did not come her way by luck. Despite her success and her awareness of her abilities, Rhimes struggles, as the book opens, to feel confident in her life and also experiences great unhappiness, despite working at a job that she loves.

As she embarks on her Year of Yes, Rhimes reveals both the flaws and areas of weakness that she hopes to remedy, and the strengths which she relies on to institute such large-scale life changes. Her fear of being publicly shamed, embarrassed, or judged is a key factor that stands in the way of her saying yes. Likewise, she has succumb to societal pressures that insist she must excel at parenting at all times, causing her feelings of shame for seeking help or for prioritizing other areas of her life at times. Her drive to focus all of her energy and attention on her job and career cause her to feel guilty when she shifts her focus to her children, however. Likewise, she uses food to cope with stress; avoids having difficult and honest conversations with others; and does not know how to enjoy and applaud her own success.

As Rhimes learns more about these flaws—along with how they impact her life and the factors that allow them to perpetuate—she uncovers ways of overcoming them. She relies heavily on her personal drive and commitment to accomplishing a task once she has made up her mind to carry it out. Knowing that she will not allow herself to fail and being willing to apply hard work is what causes Rhimes’s Year of Yes to be effective.