On my road trip, The Chancellor and I were able to enjoy a second Carrie Fisher memoir, Shockaholic. We both enjoyed Wishful Drinking so much that we hoped we could attain a similar listening experience with Shockaholic. And while I was disappointed to see some crossover in family stories, I was not disappointed by the overall product.
Fisher delves much more deeply into her mental health problems, her life with her stepdad, and her own father’s brief relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. She discusses Star Wars a bit, and she also explains the story of the time she briefly dated a Senator. Her daughter features in the narrative and seems, for all intents and purposes, like a great kid. It’s quite similar to Wishful Drinking, though the threads of the narrative are not quite as coherent.
I didn’t first know if I’d like this as I was listening to it, particularly because it doesn’t have the same neat trajectory as Wishful Drinking, and it repeats a few of the same stories. However, it does deal quite candidly with mental health issues, and Fisher’s own experience with ECT helps de-stigmatize the treatment, which is also important. Further, her chapter on Michael Jackson gave me a LOT to think about. She delves into her relationship with him and her observations on his parenting and life. It was a poignant chapter, and because she herself had been a celebrity child and young celebrity, I believe she understood more of his experience than other people could. This is also a fantastic listen on audiobook, and while it’s not as neatly written or packaged as Wishful Drinking, it’s highly worth the listen, in my opinion.
Cross-posted to my blog.