Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

6 reviews

deathmetalheron's review against another edition

funny reflective fast-paced

3.0

I've never had a booked I simultaneously loved/hated at the same time. The rating does not stand for "meh," it stands for the fact that I think some of this book is hilarious, insightful, and interesting and other parts are eyeroll inducing, repetitive, or padding. 
It's very extreme book in its mood, not necessarily the content. Fisher will make a Boomer-tier joke that's like "I'm Princess Tater, my ex is Darth Tater, and daughter is Rehabili-tater" and then she'll say something like "and that's why my dad got all the good p*ssy!" 

Yes, it's unbelievably unhinged in some regards in a way you wouldn't really expect a celebrity memoir to be. It's very crass and some of the stories are delivered with such brutal honesty. As refreshing it is, the looming feeling that Fisher's brand and personae is simply this image haunts the text. It's every celebrity memoir book, asking for genuine insight from someone who puts on a mask at all times is a big ask, and I don't fault her for leaning into that mask. If anything, the mask itself is just refreshing to have someone like Fisher talk about her issues in an honest light. For all the public images she could have presented, this one is at least focused on destigmatizing mental illness and not being afraid to discuss issues that affect everyone but are more uncouth to speak about. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Carrie Fisher is a riot! Reads like stand up comedy/1 woman show - wish I saw this performed live & wish Paul Simon would write a song about me 5🥃

“But the main thing I’ve learned, I learned all by myself, no help needed. I learned not to get my tongue pierced. Because if you’re getting it pierced for the reason why I think you’re getting it pierced and you’re not good at that thing to begin with, no little piece of jewelry is going to save the day.”

God she’s brilliant - there’s way too many funny lines to include! Can’t wait to read her other books 😆

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War

art_books_chemistry's review against another edition

funny informative lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

If I'm being honest, there were several parts of this memoir that were sad due to the circumstances surrounding Carrie Fisher's passing. This isn't the first time I've listened to a memoir after a celebrities passing however it's definitely one of the sadder ones due to her discussions of her addictions and mental illness. That being said, Carrie is G.Damn hilarious; I love the matter of fact way she tells some of the stories about her younger days and about her mom. One of my reactions to this memoir is that I decided I have to look into Debbie Reynolds' memoir(s) to see how she tells some of the same stories and what other stories she has to tell about her own Hollywood life. Carrie has an interesting way of looking at her Star Wars stardom that also makes me wonder how other actors and actresses famous for specific roles feel about those roles. 

Although Carrie's ultimate outcome was not ideal after her personal battles, I still found her attitude in this memoir inspiring even though I don't struggle with the same problems. She definitely puts a lighthearted spin on her issues that I think could be helpful for others in similar positions. 

If you're at all a Carrie Fisher fan, I definitely recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Gun violence and Sexual content

bashsbooks's review

emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

3.75

Carrie Fisher is so funny and has so many punchy lines - Wishful Drinking ends with a zinger that I will be laughing about for ages. I appreciate how forthright she is about her struggles with addiction and bipolar disorder. Her choice to use her platform to combat the stigma for this two things is respectable and well-done. The thing that keeps me from rating this higher is that I know Wishful Drinking was originally a show, and it does not fully transition into a book format, even in an audiobook (although that is the format I recommend consuming it in).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Stalking

Minor: Fatphobia and Pregnancy

brennen_90's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Mental illness

Minor: Sexism and Toxic relationship

gwooby's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Carrie also discusses electroshock therapy and her experience with the treatments.