Comedian and actress Ellie Kemper has made a name for herself playing sweetly good-natured characters.

You probably now her as Erin on The Office, Becca in Bridesmaids, or the title character in Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. As she says, “I have played a wide range of characters over the years – characters ranging from ditzy and cheerful to flaky and upbeat.”

Based on her new book of essays, Ellie Kemper might not be a ditzy and flaky as the characters she’s played, but she’s probably at least as cheerful and upbeat. She takes us from her childhood days staging elaborate Christmas plays for her family and emulating naturalist Dian Fossey by studying neighborhood squirrels instead of mountain gorillas, to her time practicing improv comedy, auditioning for Saturday Night Live, and preparing to be a real life bridesmaid while also playing one in a blockbuster movie.

If you liked Tina Fey’s Bossypants and Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, give My Squirrel Days a shot.