This past weekend, Oct. 23-25, was the annual Boston Bookfest. From October 2009 to present day, Boston has put on this weekend-long fest filled with free books, keynote speakers and anything else book-related you can think of. This year was no different with keynote speakers from across the country, authors and more. The headliner of this year’s 2025 Boston Bookfest was none other than Shonda Rhimes, television producer and author alike. Rhimes has a resume many Hollywood stars dream of, producing shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “Bridgerton” and “How To Get Away With Murder,” to name just a few. A Hollywood name and now a New England resident herself, Rhimes spoke on the tenth anniversary of her memoir, “The Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person.” 

In her memoir, Shonda Rhimes speaks of her personal experience of taking a year to say yes to every opportunity that arose in her life. From mundane yes’s such as taking trash out for someone to saying yes to appear on the Ellen Show, Rhimes spoke of this freedom found in choosing positive over negative. As a self-described introvert, Rhimes said she found herself often declining invitations to be seen promoting her shows or book on live TV. She stated, “I didn’t think I needed to be the one up there, it was my characters that were telling their stories.” It is hard to believe that Rhimes, the reason these truthfully groundbreaking stories were on air, preferred to literally and figuratively hide from the screen rather than choose to lend her face and presence to the promotion of such popular pieces of media. 

Rhimes’ humility was displayed throughout her speech. She discussed the need to make her characters great because she “wouldn’t accept anything else.” Rhimes was not only an inspiration; Just as she was in her book, she was candid, down to earth and just as groundbreaking as her shows. Her memoir, “The Year of Yes,” elaborates on her journey in navigating a life through yes’s, but it also speaks of a life of no’s. Rhimes talks of this concept of being used to not saying yes and how, because of that, she wasn’t living but truthfully barely surviving. To honor her now decade-old year of saying yes, Rhimes now promises to say yes to one new thing every day. This decision has led her to not only have a life framed around positivity but also made her a New York Times Bestseller on top of her amazing screenwriting career. 

What was very striking about Rhimes was her understanding of the power she has. Rhimes never once apologized for being a woman in power and was beyond proud of her  position, as she frankly should be. However, what was so incredible about her acknowledgement of her position was that she used it to make a difference. Rhimes spoke about her production of the show “Scandal,” stating, “I wanted to do it right. I didn’t want to close doors making a show with one of the only women of color leads on TV. I wanted to open doors for more women of color to be seen, and with that I had this enormous pressure to do it right.” Her willingness to not only master her craft but to make sure she was the catalyst for other women of color in Hollywood to act and produce was so awe-inspiring to see. Watching this woman with the TV world in her hands do something so amazing with it was truly magical in a sense. 

To close out her inspirational talk, Rhimes brought it back to her book. In “The Year of Yes,” she wanted her audience to not only feel her in the pages but learn how to make their own yes’s come true. She spoke about how, as a woman, she has seen other women talk about their imposter syndrome. She stated, “I don’t understand imposter syndrome. If you got there you deserve to be there.” Rhimes explored the concept of understanding your worth and that the only person who can ever take away your power is yourself. Shonda Rhimes is a woman of many accomplishments and talents, and one who has dedicated the last ten years to saying yes. After learning how to live in a world where yes is not only possible but exists as an everyday decision, Rhimes asked her audience to consider what their yes’s would be.