Wishful Drinking
The bestselling author of Postcards from the Edge comes clean (well, sort of) in her first-ever memoir, adapted from her one-woman Broadway hit show. Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of “Hollywood in-breeding,” come of age on the set of a little movie called Star Wars, and become a cultural icon and bestselling action figure at the age of nineteen.
Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It’s an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty—Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher—homewrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.
Wishful Drinking, the show, has been a runaway success. Entertainment Weekly declared it “drolly hysterical” and the Los Angeles Times called it a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.” This is Carrie Fisher at her best—revealing her worst. She tells her true and outrageous story of her bizarre reality with her inimitable wit, unabashed self-deprecation, and buoyant, infectious humor.
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Readers say *Wishful Drinking* offers a witty, candid glimpse into Carrie Fisher’s life, balancing humor with raw honesty about fame, addiction, and m...
Wishful Drinking was a delightful surprise. I expected a painful account of Carrie Fisher’s life. Instead, I found myself laughing, smiling, and completely fascinated by her memories. Fisher transforms decades of Hollywood scandals, personal struggles, and public scrutiny into a comedy routine without diminishing the pain beneath each punchline.
Adapted from her one-woman stage show, the memoir moves through Fisher’s life as she best remembers it after electroconvulsive therapy affected portions of her memory. She revisits growing up as the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, her father’s famous affair with Elizabeth Taylor, and her sudden transformation into Princess Leia at nineteen. Her life sounds too outrageous for fiction. Her face appears on everything from shampoo bottles to PEZ dispensers while her private life becomes public entertainment.
Fisher also writes candidly about bipolar disorder, addiction, rehabilitation, relationships, and motherhood. These subjects could have created the depressing memoir I expected. Her self-awareness and comedic timing give the difficult memories the sweet needed to swallow them. She never asks readers to pity her. She claims each controversy as part of her history and finds the funniest possible angle without pretending the experience was harmless. What a talented woman she is!
Carrie Fisher’s narration makes the audiobook feel personal. Her delivery has the rhythm of a practiced performer and the intimacy of a friend recounting her wildest stories over drinks. Her comedic timing is unmatched. Her personality comes through every sarcastic observation, dramatic pause, and perfectly delivered punchline. Listening to her explain why Princess Leia could not wear a bra in space became a hilarious and revealing look at sexism within the film industry. Fisher exposes the absurdity without turning the moment into a lecture.
I knew Carrie Fisher was talented. I did not realize how personable, insightful, and consistently hilarious she was. Her honesty about fame, mental illness, substance use, and survival made me admire her far beyond her role in Star Wars. She emerges as a pioneering feminist who understood how she could challenge an industry determined to control women’s bodies and stories. The final line had me laughing out loud as she managed to connect her addictions back to a scene from Star Wars. I cannot believe I waited so long to listen. I highly recommend choosing the audiobook and letting Carrie tell you her remarkable life story herself.
The best part of this book is the cover (which ironically supports the whole "judging a book by its cover" adage). Fisher comes across as a whiney, spoiled Hollywood brat whose self-deprecating humor comes across as a series of bad one-liners. She bashes her family, friends, Republicans with every foul four-letter word she can muster. It seems as though she wants to reveal the pain and hardship of addiction and mental illness, but I couldn't get past the crass sarcasm and constant criticism.
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