This felt, quite literally, like reading Carrie Fisher’s diary. There are excerpts from her personal journals, of course, but the entire book was a series of ruminations about the blurry delineation between Carrie and Leia. It’s a curious melange of lighthearted reflections and painful self-criticism. 

Although it’s clearly not her intent, Harrison Ford comes out looking rather—um—concerning. 

I’m not entirely sure how to rate this book. It was illuminating, to be sure. She dives well into the complicated, off-putting nature of parasocial relationships. But more than anything else, it feels quite sad, especially now that she has passed.

As a Star Wars fan, I wanted to like Carrie Fisher's memoir, but it was difficult to read and to finish. I skimmed the majority of the pages, especially the diary portion. Most of the book focused on her affair with Harrison Ford, which I honestly did not want to read about. The most interesting information was about her audition for the role as Princess Leia and the few aspects of information about filming. I also didn't like how she mocked some of the fan interactions in the latter part of her memoir. I know some fans might be "over the top", but they are people too. 

I liked this book very much, some parts were really sad especially if you read between the lines. 

First off, I love Carrie Fisher’s way of telling things like it is, without apology or embarrassment. I’ve always loved that about her, and hearing her read the audiobook in her own voice was fantastic. As a Star Wars fan from a young age, I loved the insights into the making of the film, and into her life as a young actress.

However, this book doesn’t actually have much to it - unless you love hearing about her affair with Harrison Ford, which feels as though it comprises 70% of the book (and makes me see the man even less positively than before). And that isn’t a bad thing either. I just had different expectations of the book. It was an entertaining read, but I just was hoping for more.

And to be honest, the diary entries from her 19-year-old self were so hard to get through that I skipped half of them. The majority were about the older, married man who was using her while she was in a vulnerable stage of her life. Yuck.

Definitely going to try her other book Wishful Drinking, as I feel that will have more to offer. Still, I had an enjoyable time and it was a very nostalgic read.

The inside story of a 19 year old high school drop out who lived in her famous mothers shadow as a backup singer for her shows, who suddenly gets a part in an low budget sci-fi movie that will soon blow up the screens. The book is almost bittersweet, showing how Carrie got her big break but was also told she needs to lose weight in order to become Princess Leia and falls in unrequited love. A lot of this book is about shedding light on Carrie and Harrison's affair, something that a lot of people speculated on but never got definitive answers until now. The parts of their affair, while good, took up more of the book than I had wanted; but Carrie did include a lot of her personal writing and poems she wrote of their affair and trying to find out who she really was during the filming of the movie. It is almost heartwrenching to hear in her own words how naive she was at 19 and having to learn the lessons of fame, hollywood, and love while she was so young. But the writing in her personal journals was by far my favorite part. She was an excellent writer, and those poems and journal entries put so much emotion into the words that you feel like you can connect with Carrie in a way that you hadn't felt before. 

A stunning, insightful and vulnerable memoir into Carrie's teenage years and how she's dealt with the huge Star Wars fame. Miss Fisher your presents and joy is still forever missed. Rest in paradise.

For my first ever Memoir, I have barley anything bad to say. It was absolutely fantastic! My only major problems was the structure and the fact that the audiobook didn't match with my copy I was reading along with. Which lost it half a star.

The structure as a mildly dyslexic reader didn't work for me. It just isn't accessible, I would have loved Carrison and Leia's lap dance broke  into smaller chapters, as well as the diary entries. All the writing was fine I just would have felt more comfortable with the structure broken up better.

Also it might be the fault of the bookseller but with the audiobook and physical copy having whole chunks and paragraphs not matching it felt very messy and tricky to follow along. This is just a minor nit pick though.

Apart from that, chefs kiss. One thing I really appreciate is that the writing style especially with certain sentences in brackets, makes it feel like Carrie is physically having a casual conversation with you and that your not just reading a memoir. Fisher really tries to immerse you into her world, with her witty humour and charm. Spoilers, she succeeds. I couldn't help giggling when it came to the parts of sentences that were in brackets.

Another thing I love is her raw honesty and energy. To many celebrities want to look tough and mask their selves but Carrie isn't. Even when the reader doesn't deserve it, she is raw, honest, witty and not afraid to be vunerable. Her voice ripples threw and she is honest about why just now she wants to share her journal entries and certain other private events just now. I don't think Carrie ever realised this but her willingness to be open about her thoughts about herself has probably helped a lot of people be willing to talk about their mental health as well. 

Finally, the journal entries themselves. I saw some reviews complaining that they're nothing to do with Star Wars but she was a teenage girl for goodness sake! Of course she's gonna be talking about boys. That's what most teenage girls were expected to do. Relating back to my previous comments, the journal entries are honest and authentically Carrie. Probably because her journals were intended to be a safe place to vent her secrets but still. I was really worried about them not being true to Carrie but they indeed were. Some of the entries read like beautiful poetry and most importantly told a story. Those diary entries alone, foretold Carries potential as a fabulous writer.

Overall, a memoir completely worth the read, even if your not a Star Wars fan. Its about the story of a teenager dealing with love and fame that after looking at her parents, didn't want to repeat. We will forever miss you, dear princess.

I love Carrie Fisher and Star Wars, and I'm a few years late on this memoir. It made me appreciate Carrie more as a person and celebrity- she clearly had a complex relationship with her fame and the legacy of her role as Leia. Her daughter reading the poetry that Carrie wrote during the filming of Star Wars felt raw and real, her prose thoughtful and reminiscent of what your young 20's definitely feels like. Carrie herself is uproariously funny, and I found myself laughing out loud many times! She was also shockingly candid about her own death and image, so listening to this after her passing was bittersweet. I'll probably want to read her other memoir soon.