Review: The Princess Diarist

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I decided to listen to The Princess Diarist.  Written and mostly narrated by Carrie Fisher herself, her daughter, Billie Lourd, reads the portion of diaries from when Carrie was 19.  It was an interesting creative choice that may have made me shed a tear or two.  It was a little weird to have Carrie Fisher speaking to me from beyond the grave.  I almost forgot she is gone.  

Just like the fans that Carrie Fisher lovingly pokes fun of, I wanted to be Princess Leia when I was a little girl.  I made my mom put my hair in those buns and ran around in my Star Wars Underoos.  I had a crush on Han Solo.  Let's not kid ourselves.  I still want to be Princess Leia.  I still have a crush on Han Solo.  

Hearing Carrie talk about the good and bad of playing a character that she never expected to become so iconic as to almost eclipse her as a person was very moving.  How hard it must be to have people expect you to always be a fictional character and never yourself.  It made me more aware of my position as a fan, and the obligation to remember there are real people behind those characters I love.  

I was even more moved by her candid reveal of her affair with Harrison Ford.  I had heard about the affair when this book was released.  For some reason, I thought it was just a brief mention.  I didn't realize that Carrison would have a starring role.  While she avoids spilling all the down and dirty details, my heart went out to this young women wrapped up in her obsession with an older, married man.  How much she longed for him to love her back.  How life doesn't have fairy tale endings.   

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