Wishful Drinking is the saddest celebrity memoir I’ve ever read.
It opens with Carrie Fisher explaining how proud she feels to be starting over at the age of 52 after having electroconvulsive therapy. She then talks about how she can’t remember much of her life before she wrote Wishful Drinking. Then, she tries to sensationalize bipolar disorder, making it seem like a whimsical, funny condition.
Carrie Fisher sprinkles in random life stories and anecdotes throughout Wishful Drinking, none of which are funny, at all.
Maybe she’s trying to put on a happy face after recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, but there is no humility, and there’s nothing humble in her voice. In fact, she sounds quite boastful.
Wishful Drinking would have been AWESOME if Carrie Fisher had shared what she learned from her experiences, as well as tips for recovering from her mental and behavioral health issues. The book would have been exceedingly rewarding and redeeming. But instead, it’s very sad, and pathetic, to be quite frank.
This book is a total train wreck and dumpster fire, or whatever people are calling it these days. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Carrie Fisher has written a few other books, including The Princess Diarist (2016) and Shockaholic (2011)—the latter of which is about more shock therapy, of course. I wonder who paid her to advertise that treatment in these books.
Anyway, did you read Wishful Drinking? If so, what did you think?
Last Updated on January 24, 2026 by Sarah Ann
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