When I saw Carrie Fisher’s infamous Twitter reply (“You’ve hurt all three of my feelings”) to the unbalanced hate she received after the newest Star Wars movie, I knew I had to find out more about this sassy, brutally honest woman.  Imagine my delighted surprise when I found out she’s written books!  About herself!  Exactly what I wanted, handed to me in the easiest way possible.

Shockaholic is my first glimpse into Fisher’s life, which is so much more dramatic than I realized.  She’s Hollywood royalty, with all the glitter and horror that you’d expect from such a title.  She has bipolar disorder, and she has no reservations about sharing what that means for her and how she manages to survive a crippling mental disorder (i.e. the titular electro-shock therapy).  And she cattily addresses the very things that drew me to her in the first place.

You know the saying, “You’re your own worst enemy”?  Well, thanks to the Internet, that’s no longer true.  It turns out that total strangers can actually be meaner about you than you ever could be about yourself.  Which is saying a huge amount with me, because I can really go to town hurting my own feelings.  I know where they are…

Yes, it’s true.  All too true.  I let myself go.  And where did I go?  Where all fat, jowly, middle-aged women go–refrigerators and restaurants (both fine dining and drive-thru).  To put it as simply as I can and still be me:  Wherever there was food I could be found lurking, enthusiastically eyeing the fried chicken and Chinese food and pasta.  Not to mention the cupcakes and ice cream and pies, oh my!

How could I have allowed this to happen?  What was I thinking?  More to the point, what was I eating?  And having eaten it, why did I eat so much of it?  And having eaten that much, why did I so assiduously avoid aerobics?

Look at all that talent!!  She’s such an engaging writer, and I’m totally sold on reading everything else she’s created.  Rock on, Carrie Fisher.  Never stop being you.   Continue reading →