The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Opening sentence: “Charlie’s Angels, Laverne & Shirley, and Family Feud premiered on TV.”
Ever since I read Wishful Drinking last February, The Princess Diarist has been part of my TBR lineup. So imagine my delight when, this week, I spotted it in the library and finally managed to tick it off my list.
I found it a little different to Carrie’s aforementioned memoir, which was a much more anecdotal, laugh-out-loud funny dip into her thoughts and life experiences. The Princess Diarist was not quite as funny, but no less insightful. It focuses on a more specific time in her life – 1976, when she accepted a role in a little space-themed movie, that she had no idea would go on to become the iconic film that it is today.
This memoir made headlines when it was released in 2016 due to Carrie’s admission about her affair with her (married) co-star, Harrison Ford. This does take up a lot of pages, not that I’m complaining, as it was fascinating to learn how it happened, her thoughts and feelings (remember, she was only 19-years-old at the time, he was 35) and read excerpts from the actual diary she kept during this period.
Carrie also gives an interesting insight into how she feels about her alter-ego, Princess Leia:
“Who do I think I would’ve been if I hadn’t been Princess Leia? Am I Princess Leia, or is she me? Split the difference and you’d be closer to the truth. Star Wars was and is my job. It can’t fire me and I’ll never be able to quit, and why would I want to?”
It must be so overwhelming to think that a part you played when you were still a teenager would dominate the rest of your life. That everywhere you went, people would associate you with a fictional character. It’s good to see that she made peace with that and embraced Leia, who, let’s face it, if you have to linked to a character forever, is a pretty brilliant sidekick.
As a fan of both Star Wars and the lady herself, I found this is an engrossing read, even more so as it was her last published work, a last little insight into her memories and mind.
Books on the 7:47 
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