Wishful Drinking, 2008
The Princess Diarist, 2016
There has never been a time when Princess Leia, and in turn Carrie Fisher, has not been in my consciousness. While Leia is a pop culture icon, Carrie is a Hollywood legend. She wore many hats in her lifetime, not just the Buns of Navarone. And one of the many hats worn by this multi-hyphenate was that of a writer. Fiction, non-fiction, and screenplays are a part of her canon. So today, on what would have been her 64th birthday, I’d like to pay tribute to the memory of Ms. Fisher via her own memoirs.
In Her Own Words
The two memoirs of hers that I have read are Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist. The two volumes have some overlap of references. I’d say it’s about the same as listening to your parent tells you the same story for the thousandth time. You may tune them out. But somewhere along the way, you realize you need to hear it again. Because you won’t always remember it, and then you’ll wish you had paid more attention because life here is finite. And Carrie Fisher was keenly aware of her mortality. She mentions what the images will be when she passes. She tells some stories because she wouldn’t want someone else to break it after she’s gone, and the world would never know her side.
The memoirs are a joyful read. Fisher has a fantastic wit. She can deliver a pun as a punchline, and you may not notice until a beat pass. A notable instance of this is her explanation of why she thinks her brother is a born-again Christian. Also, in Wishful Drinking, she gives context to a decades-old scandal in which the prime players were her parents and Elizabeth Taylor. How does she do this? Well, she says it’s equivalent to the tabloid madness of Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina. She refers to this again, in The Princess Diarist, when revealing her own affair with a then-married Harrison Ford and dubs it Carrison.
Remember when I said she was keenly aware of her mortality? Well, she was also keenly aware of her image living on ad infinitum. Example A: the color by number drawing that is attached to this post. And she shares how she feels about George Lucas owning the rights to her likeness. All of it is so fascinating to hear about today where movements like Me Too are making headway in exposing bro-culture in the professional world.
Final Thoughts
While her written voice is much the same as her spoken voice, you may miss some tone on the page. These are short books. The audiobook versions have about a 3-hour running time each. Wishful Drinking was a good listen; it was nice to hear that distinct craggy voice. The Princess Diarist is set up more like several short essays assembled. I know, those are known as a collection. Well, it’s a collection because it mostly focuses on her experience during and around the original Star Wars trilogy. But each essay seems to have been written without any deference to the others. So, there’s a missed opportunity for callbacks. Instead of connecting these essays, they stand alone. And you can pick and choose which one you’d like to read first or not at all.
Rating
No rating because memoirs are subjective. I can’t sit here and be like I didn’t like your life. It was too blasé for me. Or I loved your stories, and I think anyone who doesn’t pick this up is a fool. If you’re reading or listening to a celebrity memoir, it’s most likely because you have some vested interest in the persona of said celebrity. You don’t have to be a fanatic, but you get what I mean. If you’re not into Star Wars, that’s okay. Maybe you’re more a fan of her comedic work in When Harry Met Sally or her scene-stealing performance in Catastrophe. Or you love old Hollywood and want the inside scoop on the people and scandals of that era. Whatever it may be that draws you to Carrie Fisher *the Force*, it is that pull that will compel you to read through her tales.
Book Links
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Star Wars Color By Number by Lucas Film Book Group
