Wishful Drinking and Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher is a frank and funny autobiography.

In her self-deprecating manner, she talks about growing up as the child of famous parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, singing in the chorus of her mom's shows as a teenager, and life after Star Wars.

Her life is fascinating and full of highs and lows. It was very funny. The only fault I found was that I wished there was more of it. She breezes from weight issues to manic depression, pill addiction, and life in a Hollywood family. Each story she shares was interesting enough to fill another book, and I wanted to know about it all. Her marriage to Paul Simon, even her post-Star Wars movies that tanked ~ although she was really funny in the hit The Blues Brothers. Most of her writing, such as Postcards From The Edge, is autobiographical, so maybe you know her story already, but I enjoyed hearing it from her directly. Wishful Drinking was turned into a stage event, where she toured and talked about her life.

Shockaholic is a continuation of her story as she tours the Wishful Drinking one-woman show and goes back to pills.

Meanwhile, she woke up next to a dead gay Republican, shared Michael Jackson's last Christmas, and was friends with the "Dentist to the Stars" whose child was at the center of the "Michael sleeps with children" scandal.

This time there is more detail, but again, it's a quick read. She talks frankly about her electroconvulsive therapy experiences, which reset your brain and kick the manic depression, but make you forget months before and after the treatment. There are funny incidents with her stepfather, her real father Eddie Fisher in his last days, raising a teenager, and her 'feud' with Elizabeth Taylor.

One of them got pushed into a pool...

These were quick reads at about 170 pages each, and I'm glad I read them together. I highly recommend them. Well-written and funny.

Wishful Drinking / 2008 / Hardcover / 176 pages

Shockaholic / 2011 / Hardcover / 176 pages