Review of "Wishful Drinking," by Carrie Fisher

 Review of

Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher, ISBN 9781439102251

Five out of five stars

Insight into a troubled, productive life

 Carrie Fisher was the daughter of two actors and singers, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Her father exited the family a short time after her birth and Carrie was exposed to a series of other men in her mother’s life. She was introduced to and began taking drugs at an early age before her breakout role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series. She went on to act in many other roles, all of which are dwarfed by her work in Star Wars. Even though she was a very accomplished writer, that aspect of her work is not generally appreciated.

 Her writing skills are very apparent in this book. Fisher is open about her mental illness, drug and alcohol use as well as her relationships with her many parents as well as the significant men in her life. The book is full of puns and other wordplay, many of which are extremely clever. Some of the major events that she describes are very unusual. One night, she had a man die in bed next to her and one of her husbands left her for another man.

 I found this book to be a very entertaining and quick read. Fisher’s ability to make fun of the negative convolutions in her world and face them head on in her writings is to be commended. While it is hard not to typecast her as Princess Leia, she should be remembered for the entire body of her work, which is considerable, has considerable breadth and is of high quality.

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