Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Title: Wishful Drinking
Author: Carrie Fisher
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 163
ISBN: 9781439102251
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Author Website: carriefisher.com
Twitter: @simonschuster
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars

I'm not generally a fan of the celebrity memoir. They often seem more self-serving than anything else, but when a friend of mine left Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking at my house one day, I thought I'd at least give it a try. It's a fairly slim volume, and I was able to zip through it in an afternoon, and I'm actually glad that she forgot the book. What Carrie Fisher offers (as a written version of her one woman show of the same name) is a fairly frank, no holds barred look into her life as both the child of a celebrity couple (her parents are Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher) and then as a celebrity herself. She's straight forward about her drug and alcohol problems and talks freely about her mental problems as well. She tells both touching and frankly quite funny stories and writes with an ease that makes the book very readable. Probably my favorite section of the book is the "Hollywood Incest 101" chapter, where she tries to figure out whether her daughter is somehow related to Elizabeth Taylor's grandson, which ends up with her saying they are "related by scandal."

Wishful Drinking is a unique peek into a celebrity's life and the struggles they can have with their fame, and Carrie Fisher handles it all with a writing flare that makes this memoir one not to miss. Recommended!