Wishful Drinking

It is impossible for me to measure the impact Star Wars has had on my life. As a child this was by far my favorite movie(s) without question. Although I was never ‘in love' with Princess Leia, she was a key character in the story. What attracts me to get story is really an interest in her story specifically.

Wishful Drinking takes a large amount of its material from a show Fischer did in a live show that she performed on a tour. I haven't seen the show, but I've heard rumors here and there about who she had become over the years. I thought it would be interesting to hear from Fischer herself on the matter.

I have learned that it is a dangerous thing to put people in pedestals as they often fall off them. Had Fischer been on a pedestal, she would definitely have taken from it. But the sound of her authenticity and honesty gets my attention. Further, I appreciate how she has taken time to reflect on these events and consider what they could mean or teach her. She may not say it this way, but it appears to me in the undertones of the story.

A lot of the drama in her life seem to stem from her struggle with being bipolar. She uses humor as a vehicle for sharing details of her life. To me this isn't laugh out loud funny. Instead I find myself pitying what she has gone through, whether by choice or circumstance. A lot of her humor comes from the perspective of living a lifestyle that is foreign to mine. While I understand it, and I see why it is amusing, it doesn't tickle my funny bone.

Listening to the book being read by Fischer herself was a good way to take his book in. She adds the emphases as is natural to who she is, bringing the narrative to life.

In the end, this book sheds life on the person who was the embodiment of Princes Leia, but her own self in real life. I admire that she has come to see the tragedies brought on by bipolar that was not medicated. This shows a rare strength, made greater still in that she is willing to share it publicly with others. While she never says it explicitly, I wonder if she does so to tell others they are not alone in their experience.

Ultimately, the rating of this book comes down to taste in humor and relating to her lifestyle. I do admire that she has come to understand her illness and manage it well in her later years, but I still feel a sadness in her story. Like these are all things that have happened but there is no meaning in any of it. Perhaps some to help others who also suffer with bipolar, but ultimately it feels like she was fighting a battle that could not be won. Perhaps this is the colored by my Christian perspective, as I see relationship with God as our only hope. This book is definitely worth reading to understand her better as a fellow member of the human race struggling to find a way in a world that has a lot of hurts and anger.