Pop Went My Weasel!

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like most boys popping wood for the first time in the late '70s and early '80s, I had a "healthy" interest in Princess Leia Carrie Fisher.



Later in life, whenever I've seen one of her books on the shelves, I'd think about possibly reading it, out of interest for what she might have to say regarding those iconic Star Wars movies. I even gave a little shit about what she's been up to since then. Call it a passing fancy, one that I've passed up time and again for year upon year, right up until recently when I found the audiobook version of Wishful Drinking at the library. It was free, I had it in hand and yet still I hesitated and would not have bothered with it except that it is quite short. I wish I'd put it back on the shelf.

Three hours of listening to anyone famous and privileged talking about their problems is three hours too long. Add to that Fisher's tendency to shout, as if saying it louder makes it funnier. I blame "Laugh In"-era Goldie Hawn for this.

Negatives aside, Fisher's humor is one of the book's saving graces. She's gone beyond the "woe is me" stage, attained the "let's get our skeletons out of the closet" stage, and she handles it with laughter.

However, it's a sense of humor that is as dark as the undertones and somewhat depressing subject matter of the entire book. From start to finish, nearly everything within Wishful Drinking is about her struggles with depression, mental illness and substance abuse. It's a hard-knock life. Fisher's taken her knocks and here they are all laid out for you to read. I'm not sure I would recommend it.