Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge

Linda's Book Obsession Reviews " Carrie Fisher A Life On the Edge" by Sheila Weller. November 2019

WOW! Kudos to Sheila Weller, author of "Carrie Fisher" A Life On the Edge" for writing such a poignant, memorable, compassionate, and intriguing Biography of the life of Carie Fisher. The Genre for this book is a Biography, and Sheila Weller has interviewed many friends, acquaintances and has done extensive research into Carrie Fisher's life.

Sheila Weller shows us Carrie Fisher as "Hollywood Royalty", daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. The author does discuss that Eddie Fisher most probably had a Bi-Polar disorder and had an addictive personality, which Carrie did inherit. Eddie Fisher did leave his wife, a young Carrie and her show more younger brother for a well-known actress.

The author shows us Carrie's life from a little girl to her tragic death in 2016. Carrie had an unbelievable amount of friends, and Carrie herself was a loyal and generous friend. I was enthralled by Carrie's life as a singer, actress, friend, daughter, writer, mother, and spokesperson. Carrie is also shown to be a feminist in many ways. Carrie was quick-witted and intelligent. She would question why older women in the entertainment industry would have certain expectations about their looks of youth, and men would not have that problem. Carrie would question many things.

I loved that Sheila Weller shows tremendous sympathy and compassion for Carrie Fisher's mental illness and addiction. The author does show us that Carrie was aware that she needed help and struggled. Perhaps if there wasn't a stigma of mental illness, when Carrie was much younger she could have gotten timely help. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking and amazing biography. show less

Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge by Sheila Weller is a highly recommended biography of the well-known actor, best-selling author, and advocate for mental health awareness.

As the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Carrie Fisher began her life in the public eye and her fame followed her through her entire life. Many people immediately associate Fisher with her iconic role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, while others immediately think of her many books. She honestly covered many of her life events and struggles in her books. It is well known that she struggled with drug addiction and bipolar disorder, but it is also known that she openly and honestly shared her struggles. She had well-known parents, romantic partners, and show more friends, as well as a sometimes exuberant, sometimes troubled, complicated life.

While many people will know a lot of the information, what Weller does is bring all the facts and faucets of Fisher's life together in one biography and captures all the aspects of Fisher as a special individual. She was a devoted friend, generous, witty, brilliant, out-spoken, and unique. She worked as an actor, a novelist, a memoirist, a script doctor, and an advocate for mental health awareness. Included are many interviews with Fisher's friends, lovers, associates, and family members covering her entire life. Her well-known battles with addiction and mental illness are covered. The book includes many quotes and stories. Weller has an extensive section of chapter notes in the back so all the information she shares is well documented through other sources.

This is a well-written combination of exhaustive facts, information, and quotes alongside a lot of name dropping. While I admittedly became a bit weary of the name dropping, all of these people were a part of Fisher's life and are as much a part of her life story as she is of theirs. This is an unauthorized biography, but it is also not a hack-piece. Weller has done her research, has notes included about everything, and presented Fisher as a beloved woman with her own personal struggles. Fans of Fisher, either Star Wars or her writing, will appreciate this comprehensive biography.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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This is a really great book that is packed with information about Carrie Fisher and the audiobook is quite pleasant to listen to so much that I listen to it twice and now I know everything that there is to know about Carrie Fisher.

A difficult read but an important one.