Carrie Fisher is known to many as Princess Leia from the Star Wars movie series; exciting and inspiring women and men, children and ewoks all over the world with her feisty attitude and quick wit.
Her death on the 27th of December 2016 was a shock to many despite her being unwell the previous week… Many of us thought our princess would live forever. Her humour, talent, and formidable personality will be sorely missed.
As well as an iconic actress, Carrie was a fabulous author. She wrote around 7 books, with all her fictional novels having taken influences from her own life and experiences, and her autobiographical accounts are frank and funny. As an avid diary keeper we are privileged to be able to step into her world directly, feeling what she felt, and knowing what she knew…
But first let’s step into the semi-fictional worlds she created…
Postcards From The Edge
Carrie Fisher’s wit and humour served her well as a writer, and both her fictional and non-fictional books are engaging and fun to read, as well as a fantastic insight into her life and works.
1987 brought about her first published piece “Postcards From The Edge”, a semi-autobiographical account of her life, and was released as a movie in 1990. The novel is far more focussed on the protagonist, Suzanne, and her internal conflict, while the movie plays this out with the mother playing a larger role. I prefer the novel as it is written in a specific way- going from first person narrative, to third person as Suzanne struggles with internal conflict post-treatment.
Surrender The Pink
Drawing from her personal experiences, Fisher wrote “Surrender the Pink”, a mostly-fictional romance novel surrounding a screenwriter, Dinah, and her attempts at a love life. Much of Carrie Fisher’s humour is throughout this book, her dry wit seeps through and creates characters the reader may feel they have met before… I am not a huge fan of romance novels but this one at least had Carrie’s twist on it.
Delusions of Grandma
“Delusions Of Grandma” is a novel about an American screenwriter, Cora Sharpe, and is once again loosely based on Fisher’s own experiences. The book surrounds a seemingly huge house where Coral and her boyfriend, Ray, live, and end up having many house guests to take care of. These guests include Ray’s cancer-fighting mother, a friend suffering with the affects of AIDS virus, not to mention Cora’s pregnancy! Many obstacles get between Cora and Ray- but can they survive it all?
The Best Awful/The Best Awful There Is
“The Best Awful (There Is)” was written by Fisher in 2004, and is her final fictional novel. Loosely based on her real-life events surrounding her marriage to gay man Brian Lourd, this novel follows the drama about having a child with a man only to have him leave you for another guy, while struggling with bipolar disorder, a small child, and a hectic life. Coping with humour was Carrie’s way, and this novel is packed full of her wisdom and wit.
Wishful Drinking- An Autobiography
“Wishful Drinking” is honestly one of the funniest autobiographies I have ever read. Carrie’s personality shines through her words, and these words need reading out loud to get the best out of them. Some books truly just need to be read aloud, don’t you agree?
Her best and now most famous line in the book regards her obituary, Fisher says: “Now I think that this would make for a fantastic obit—so I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.” This was due to George Lucas explaining to her that underwear cannot be worn in space- the body expands and your bra could suffocate you. Apparently.
Shockaholic- An Autobiography
“Shockaholic” is the second autobiographical book by Fisher, carrying on from her first biography Wishful Drinking. As you may imagine it is as funny and readable as her last one. This book follows Carrie through her controversial electroshock therapy which as she notes is responsible for her memory loss- another reason to write everything down!
The book is, of course, about Fisher’s life but it carries a further message for the reader about honesty, making peace, and living without regret. A must-read!
The Princess Diarist- An Autobiography
Carrie Fisher’s final autobiographical book is taken straight from her diaries she kept as a young woman working on the first Star Wars movies. Her cringe-worthy stories about her co-stars, her dalliances, and her emotions during the time are a great read for any of her fans. It isn’t an account of the daily life in the movie business but a fantastic insight into a young woman’s heart, her hopes, fears, and ambitions.
We should be thankful Carrie Fisher kept diaries, and felt she was able to share them with us, I know I would be far too embarrassed of my teen-self to publish mine, that is, if anyone wanted to read them.
