The Princess Diarist

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they preserved.  An intimate, hilarious and revealing recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous film sets of all time.  Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty.  Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was, sort of, a regular teenager.

This is the book that Carrie was promoting in England, after which she flew home and suffered cardiac arrest, which led to her death.  This is not a play by play of the filming of Star Wars, but more her rantings and ravings, her journals, and a brief overview of the filming of Star Wars.  Carrie also reveals her intense feelings (then and now) about her affair with Harrison Ford.  She talks about her introduction to conventions, which she did not like at first, and only did for money. 

The Princess Diarist is full of interesting quotes, here are a couple of my favorites:

"If anyone reads this when I have passed to the big bad beyond I shall be posthumously embarrassed.  I shall spend my entire afterlife blushing."

"The hairstyle that was chosen would impact how everyone--every film going human--would envision me for the rest of my life.  (And probably even beyond--it's hard to imagine any TV obituary not using a photo of that cute little round-faced girl with goofy buns on either side of her inexperienced head)."

"I had never been Princess Leia before and now I would be her forever.  I would never not be Princess Leia.  I had no idea how profoundly true that was and how long forever was."

RIP funny princess. You can find this book in the nonfiction section of the library.