Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

11 reviews

jessicafaithh's review against another edition

funny fast-paced

4.5

Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking is a refreshingly fast-paced memoir that delves into the darker corners of her life without ever letting the mood drag. Fisher’s signature wit and dark humor shine through, making this a uniquely engaging read that feels less like a structured autobiography and more like a candid, unfiltered conversation.

The writing style is sharp and conversational, creating a sense of intimacy as though Fisher is sitting across from you, sharing her life’s highs and lows. Her humor, often biting and dark, adds levity to heavy subjects like addiction, mental health struggles, and family dynamics. It’s a tone that some readers will adore—especially those who appreciate raw honesty—but it might not suit everyone.

One of the most eye-opening aspects of the memoir is the insight into how Fisher’s family handled her addiction issues. The balance of love, exasperation, and resilience in these relationships is both touching and revealing. Her relationship with her mother, Debbie Reynolds, is particularly memorable. Through her anecdotes, it’s clear how much Fisher admired and revered her, even as they navigated the complexities of their familial bond.

Beyond the humor and family stories, Wishful Drinking also offers a poignant perspective on mental health. Fisher’s reflections on her experiences with bipolar disorder are deeply personal, shedding light on the realities of living with mental illness in the public eye.

This memoir isn’t a traditional, linear life story. Instead, it’s a patchwork of memories, reflections, and tangents that might feel scattered to some but perfectly encapsulates Fisher’s chaotic brilliance. It’s a book that’s best suited for readers who are ready to embrace her unconventional style and can handle the emotional weight of topics like addiction, mental illness, and loss.

Trigger warnings are a must for potential readers, as Fisher doesn’t shy away from discussing heavy, potentially upsetting themes. But for those who connect with her humor and storytelling, Wishful Drinking offers an unforgettable glimpse into the mind of a cultural icon.

Highly recommended, but with the caveat that this is Carrie Fisher in her rawest, most unfiltered form—and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, and Alcohol

ricelatte's review

funny informative sad fast-paced

a very interesting entry point into Carrie's written works + her autobiographical style. I love that she had the chance to tell and narrate her own story, especially considering the cruel narratives that others had formed around her for so many years.

I enjoyed how frank she was about living her entire life as someone who grew up in the spotlight with a complicated mental illness that was incorrectly diagnosed and often misattributed to other things. Her candor and sense of humor about it was both shocking and refreshing! 

ultimately a few complicated feelings on this book. she and I have different views on a couple things, and ultimately I was left wishing she had more compassion for herself because I think her life was painful enough. addiction is a disease and people that suffer from addiction deserve as much grace and understanding as anyone else, if not more. 

I also kind of struggled with the audiobook because the way my version split up the stories didn't align properly. the book itself isn't one that's worried too much about organization, so to have a technical issue was an added challenge that could have been avoided if I'd read physically. 

Overall a quick listen and I'm glad I picked it up. I'll definitely seek out more of her.

 

happy birthday Carrie Fisher, I love the person you authentically were more than the whole original trilogy combined. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Mental illness

Minor: Grief

weyrdkat's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

Outrageously funny and intimate look at growing and learning about herself and dealing with the things that come with fame, drug use, alcohol, and pointent family drama. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Minor: Infidelity, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

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

usuallyaudio's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

2.75

This is a short collective of stories of Carrie Fisher's life, as written (and read) by the author. It's based on her travelling show, so it makes sense that it is somewhat all over the place, rather than a biography. The main themes are her mental illnesses and struggles she faced throughout her life and career. She has a comical and lighthearted way of reflecting on her life, but it could be because she went through electroconvulsive therapy to treat her depression. I was hoping for more thorough biography, but that is not what this book is. It is funny reading this today as it was published in 2009 and it almost felt like she predicted or spoke into existence some things that happened since. 

While I love listening to autobiographies read by the author, she did read this as though it was one of her travelling performances. ie lots of yelling at the end of a sentence for emphasis.

RIP Carrie <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

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

cadybooks's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

soulwinds's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Grief

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, and Sexism

hannibanani29's review

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

morrisimo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

An entertaining and extremely likeable memoir. Carrie is very funny and I enjoy her writing style. A lot of hard stuff in here but she handles it with humor and grace. A good time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Body shaming, Death, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail