The Princess Diarist

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Average customer rating 4.8 (4 comments)

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"I call people sometimes hoping not only that they'll verify the fact that I'm alive but that they'll also, however indirectly, convince me that being alive is an appropriate state for me to be in." This book has a very different tone that the others by Carrie Fisher that I've read. The format is largely different too. While Fisher's other books are self-deprecating and talk about her drug use and her family, this book is really more about her when she was young and filming Star Wars. There's still the dark humor and lots of context, but this book is more full of pain and heartache which caught me off guard. While Fisher opens up about her affair with Harrison Ford, she also opens up about the pain it caused her and examining her relationships with men. Her writing is honest and open and so heartfelt. It's so wonderful to read her thoughts and feelings about the world knowing that even though they hurt her it can help others. This is really a great book that Fisher gifted the world with.

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To set the scene: I work nights. I listen to audiobooks at night at work. Carrie Fisher is not an author to listen to if you want to be productive at work. I was laughing so hard I think my co-workers were afraid for me. So many times during this book I was laughing so hard I was crying. Carrie Fisher is a hilarious author! She opens herself up in this book and tells a lot of personal things, she admits that there was a lot of the diaries she kept that she omitted from this book, and rightly so. She deserves her privacy. She uses a "devil may care" approach to telling her story and the sharp wit is beyond anything I have ever read. This was a very short book. (The audio edition is just over 5 hours) it's a book I would read over and over. You'll laugh and you will cry as Carrie Fisher is your guide through a very fun and somewhat hard time in her life.

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On December, 27 2016, the world lost an amazing woman. Not just because of her role as Princess Leia, but also for her work as a screenwriter, novelist, and mental health advocate. Carrie Fisher meant a lot to a lot of us for various reasons. To me, she played the first character that I truly looked up to. Princess Leia taught me not to take crap from anyone, and that a woman can be whatever she wants to be, including but not limited to a leader of a rebellion. Something that, given the current state of things, is inspiring. After someone like Carrie Fisher passes away, someone who has left us with a body of work to remember them by, I find that the best way to honor them is to read, watch, or listen to their work. In this case, I watched Star Wars and read The Princess Diarist. At times, it was difficult to read as there are moments when she talks about a future that she will sadly never see, but overall, The Princes Diarist was well worth the read. Fisher, as always, is unapologetic and honest about her time as Princess Leia. Throughout this book, Fisher talks in depth but her affair with Harrison Ford as well her constant struggle to be who everyone wanted her to be, or at least what she believed everyone wanted from her. Through her journal, we are given a glimpse into her life during filming while also getting her insights on that time of her life. To many young women, Fisher’s feelings about herself and the world around her are rather familiar. The desire to appear more mature and worldly than we really are, to appear cool and confident despite the crippling self-doubt, is something that many of us have been through. In Fisher’s examination of her younger self, we at times see ourselves. However, in this case we have the advantage to hearing the wisdom of a woman who has experienced it all, and she certainly leaves us with some solid advice. Fisher’s signature self-deprecating humor balances out the bleak tone of her diary entries and leaves us with an insightful and rather memorable memoir about a woman that we will sorely miss.

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Just found out that the superbly talented comic author of this book has just passed away. It is with insane sadness that I send my condolences to her family and friends -- this is a woman who helped shape our popular culture in timeless ways with her words and her persona. May the Force always be with her and may you all find time int he coming year to read all her amazing novels and memoirs and remember that, when things got tough, Carrie got tougher. She was one helluva broad, as you'll see in this collection and all her othe writings. RIP Princess Leia -- we love you so!