Book: Wishful Drinking
Author: Carrie Fisher
My Rating: 5 Candid Stars
Hey book lovers! I finished a memoir. You may start planning the parade in honor of me sticking to my goals. I put a book on my TBR list and then I actually read that book, so you can at least mentally give me a round of applause as you read this review.
I read Carrie Fisher’s memoir, Wishful Drinking. And it was as irreverent and tragically funny as I expected. The introduction had me laughing and feeling a little bad about it, which was basically how the entire book went for me. Toward the beginning she made the statement, “If my life weren’t funny it would just be true.” And I thought it brilliant to write in the book. It felt like permission to laugh at something you probably shouldn’t laugh at – or maybe even encouragement to laugh.
I don’t know that I have any right to say this, as I have only read like two other memoirs in my life, but Carrie Fisher understood the assignment of writing a biography. It was incredibly well done. She managed to tackle celebrity, addiction, mental health, and family with precision. And instead of leaving me sad and exhausted at the end, I was smiling. Nothing she wrote took on a serious tone, it was all very “c’est la vie.” And she was well aware that her life didn’t look like anyone else’s life. So it didn’t come across as a rich person out of touch with reality complaining about her first world problems, but rather a person going, “If I struggled how much do we all struggle?”
I loved how she talked about her mom in such a playful way. She didn’t try to make her mom look like a perfect mother, in fact she told a few stories that made me think, “No wonder you had so many issues.” But she did make it glaringly obvious that she and her mother loved each other very much regardless of her parenting style. Even her father, who definitely wasn’t painted in a flattering light, was written about with the same treatment. I didn’t come away from the book thinking she hated the man, but she wasn’t trying to convince any readers that he was something he wasn’t.
The book is SO quotable. Seriously, there should be a daily calendar with one liners from this book. One of my favorites was toward the end, “Cry as much as you want, you’ll pee less.” Which is probably going to make me laugh next time I have a good cry. Ultimately, it was a very honest account that should have been a heavy read, but was instead somehow refreshing. That’s Carrie Fisher for you, an iconic contradiction.
Krystle Goodman is a crazy cat lady, who loves to drink exorbitant amounts of coffee, and read a shocking amount of books. She lives in Benton with her husband Josh, her son Roman, and their two cats Roxanne and Abby. When she isn’t reading, you’ll find her cooking, painting, or watching true crime shows. Watch for Krystle’s book reviews every other Friday. Send fanmail to: [email protected]
See more of Krystle’s reviews at www.mysaline.com/krystle.