Thursday 17 August 2017

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher


Carrie Fisher has lived an interesting life. The daughter of two famous celebrities, she seemed destined for greatness from the cradle. And then she became Princess Leia in Star Wars, defining the role for fans everywhere. Awarded that part when she was just nineteen, fame came with all the trappings - alcohol, drugs, and the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Carrie embraced it. She didn't know anything else. It for her included mental illness, and a number of addictions. Somewhat surprisingly, later on, trapped in the trappings, she fought  to get some semblance of "normal" back. These are her stories. Stories of shame and debauchery, of flying high and scraping the depths of the barrel.

Told with intelligence, wit and sharp insight, this little book packs a punch with its honesty and truthful self examination.

Carrie Fisher is delightful. She is quirky, unashamedly all herself, and the bonus of this audiobook is that she does the narration personally - she's good at that too.

My gripe is the way it hangs together. It sounds more like a collection of her stand up routines (which she did do, at one stage of her career), and therefore feels more like sitting down to a dinner party and reminiscing than reading a carefully crafted and slightly thought out book.

A joy, nevertheless.

3 stars

ISBN: 9781439102251

You may also enjoy Karma Deception and a pair of Red Ferraris by Elaine Taylor, You're never weird on the Internet (almost) by Felicia Day or Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson.

Click the covers for some more reviews.




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