This was my first time encountering the late Carrie Fisher's written works, and I am really glad I did. In wake of her passing, this book gave me deep insights into a woman who's wit and unabashed frankness always charmed me. This book, which is focused around the diary entries she kept during her

Spoiler

affair with Harrison Ford on the set of A New Hope

is focused much more on the emotional turmoil than it is on the actual events taking place at that time. Her commentaries sandwich the diary entries on either end, providing a beautifully complete understanding of Carrie's perspective on that whole Star Wars thing.

The "sort-of" in the "A sort of memoir" on the cover is very intentional. Readers beware expecting a book that is well-rounded or highly informative. Fisher is not afraid to be very subjective, and admit that her story is very much her own and reflects the things that stood out to her. Long after the physicality, names, faces, and details have faded away, it is the impressions that are welled up from her at times hilarious - and other times startlingly raw and poignant - prose that she cares about all the years later. I laughed out loud multiple times in this book, and came away feeling like I shared a lot in common with young Carrie, who fought to understand her own desire for approval in tandem with a need to keep people at a distance. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good memoir, loves Carrie Fisher, or just really needs some time and perspective. The wisdom Carrie imparts as she looks on her past mistakes and triumphs is sobering and vital; we could all do to take something from it.