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17 October 2010

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Photo from bookcoverarchive.com.
"Happy is one of the many things I'm likely to be over the course of a day and certainly over the course of a lifetime. But I think if you have the expectation that you're going to be happy throughout your life--more to the point, if you have a need to be comfortable all the time--well, among other things, you have the makings of a classic drug addict or alcoholic." - Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking

Thanks to my friend Patrick's blog, Reading Under the Covers, I happened upon a read that was equal parts entertaining and eye-opening in Carrie Fisher's recent memoir, Wishful Drinking.  Check out Patrick's review of the same book here!  He's awesome so keep checking his blog.  You'll be glad you did.

For those of you that have happened upon this blog post during your first excursion out from under your rock (no offense at all...I find myself between a rock and a hard place all the time), Carrie Fisher played Princess Leia in the ORIGINAL Star Wars Trilogy.  Princess Leia, in her infinite wisdom and amazingness, takes the bull by the horns in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and famously puts Han Solo into his place by saying:

"Somebody has to save our skins.  Into the garbage chute, Flyboy!"

Now that's what I'm talking about.  Pure woman power!

Anyway, yes, I grew up watching Star Wars.  My brother and I know absolutely every word to the original trilogy, I think, and I'm pretty confident that we're pretty close with the prequels now too.  In fact, after finishing Wishful Drinking in the car (audiobook of course) on my way up North this past week, Kyle and I watched episodes 4 and 5 together this weekend.  Unfortunately we did not get to Return of the Jedi which has always been my favorite, but there will be other times.  But yes, it can be argued (it doesn't even need to be, as there really isn't much of a rebuttal) that I've always been a pretty huge dork.  I've never really been of the loud and proud persuasion of dorks...but at the same time, I've never succeeded when trying to hide it either, at least not to my knowledge.

So yes, onto business.  Aside from playing one of the biggest female science fiction icons of all time Carrie Fisher also became a rather iconic addict (oh, she was also in When Harry Met Sally...a personal favorite...check it out, for sure) among other things.  Wishful Drinking chronicles some of the deepest and darkest times in Fisher's life.  The memories that she has written about are ones that remain available to her after electroconvulsive therapy.  This being the case, this book acts not only as a window into an interesting life for the reader but also as a journey of rediscovery for the author.

The reclaimed fragments of Fisher's life are simultaneously hilarious and haunting...and I do not say this lightly.  Wishful Drinking is a fascinating read (or listen...the audiobook being read by Fisher herself) but it is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.  God bless her, Carrie Fisher is a riot...a truly rowdy woman...and I mean this only in the best ways possible.

Mentions of her feelings toward George Lucas and of the frantic call about Carrie's use of LSD made to Cary Grant by Fisher's mother, Debbie Reynolds, are just two out of a myriad of highlights that make this tale both cautionary and comedic.

So to sum things up...the book was great and I'd definitely recommend it, with the minor caveat mentioned already.  Check out the video below, where Carrie herself promotes her one-woman-show by the same title.  If you see the video and think "my life may very well be incomplete until I read this book"...then I'd recommend picking it up and giving it a chance!


That's all for now, but more to come soon!  If you like reading my random rants and feel like clicking that "Follow" button...by all means, go for it (but no pressure)!  (Quick shout-out to the newest follower among the ranks, anchorman0718!)

Peace out, all!  Stay Classy!
LT

1 comment:

  1. Awesome review and thanks for the plug. I forgot about that video of CF. She is awesome at comedy.

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