A review by beckykphillips
Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation by Jim O'Heir

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

I am a diehard Parks and Recreation fan, it is my ultimate comfort show and I have watched it countless times, so when I saw Jim O'Heir (Jerry/Larry/Gary)  wrote a book on his experiences while he was on the show I jumped at the chance to get to read it. What you get is a lovely memoir both of his career and experiences in general combined with recollections of Parks and Rec itself. Jim is joined in his memoir by familiar faces like Chris Pratt and Retta, along with folks who were more behind the scenes like Mike Schur and Allison Jones. 

It was really great to get to know Jim better and this book made me want to give him a big old hug. Some of his experiences surrounding the show with being othered really broke me - particularly being left out of the men of Pawnee shoot. Additionally, the fact that both he and Retta weren't in the main credits until the final season was something I'd never noticed before, but I found ridiculous that they weren't included sooner as they were both such important and excellent characters. 

Overall though, you get to learn so much about the family like cast and the ups and downs of being a network show that was constantly on the cusp. Seeing the show come together through Jim's eyes was a unique opportunity and I definitely need to check out his podcast to get even more of his lovely insights. 

My only regret is that my eARC did not include all of the wonderful photos that will be included in the final book. If you're a fan of Parks and Rec and specifically want to learn more about the loveable Jim O'Heir I definitely recommend it. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy.