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Overview
Bad news . . .
. . . for anyone who thought Carrie Fisher had finally stopped talking about herself: Sorry, but after all of her seemingly endless blathering on about her nose-bleedhigh- class problems, it appears she has yet another brand-new problem to overshare about (though don’t expect to relate to it). This time, the electro-convulsive shock therapy she’s been regularly undergoing is threatening to wipe out (what’s left of) her memory.
But get ready for a shock of your own. Not only doesn’t she mind paying the second electric bill, but she loves the high-voltage treatments. In fact, she gets a real charge out of them. She can’t get enough. In fact, this might even be a brand-new addiction for her. But before she can truly commit herself to it in the long term, she’d better get some of those more nagging memories of hers on paper.
It’s been a roller coaster of a few years for Carrie since her Tony- and Emmy-nominated, one-woman Broadway show and New York Times bestselling book Wishful Drinking. She not only lost her beloved father, but also her once-upon-a-very-brief-time stepmother, Elizabeth Taylor. And as if all that weren’t enough, she also managed to lose over forty pounds of unwanted flesh—not by sawing off a leg (though that did cross her zapped mind) but by doing what might be termed “wishful shrinking,” all the while staying sober and sane-ish. And she wants to tell you, dear reader, all about it . . . and more.
Why? Because she wants you to someday be able to remind her about how Elizabeth Taylor settles a score and the scatological wonders of shoe tycoons. She doesn’t want to forget about how she and Michael Jackson became friends or how she ended up sparring with none other than Ted Kennedy on a dinner date. And she especially wants to preserve her memories of Eddie Fisher—what their relationship really was and the beautiful story it turned out to be in the end.
Yes, of course, Shockaholic is laugh-out-loud funny, acerbic, and witty as hell. But it also reveals a new side of Carrie Fisher that may even bring a pleasant shock your way: it is contemplative, vulnerable, and ultimately quite tender.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Carrie Fisher's last film role as Princess Leia Organa occurred in 1983's Return of the Jedi, but as this entertaining book emphatically demonstrates, that slave girl bikini appearance didn't end her connection to Star Wars mythos. In fact, the universe of the Galactic Empire and the worlds beyond continues to expand far beyond the eight billion dollar film franchise. Shockaholic takes readers on Carrie's voyage through strange, strange lands, including an account of her recent romance with electro-convulsive shock therapy. All that said, this book is more jaunty than Fisher's Wishful Drinking, a memoir that did well in our stores.
Joanna Scutts
Fisher's memoir Shockaholic, the follow-up to her successful autobiography and one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, is similarly witty, ramshackle and outrageous.—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
In this funny and sad memoir, Fisher (Wishful Drinking) tackles her difficult decision to pursue ongoing electroshock therapy, an unpopular medical alternative which she lauds as a last-ditch effort to alleviate the pain of living her particular life: "I was in pain squared, pain cubed, pain to the nth power." Writing with tremendous wit, ample self-deprecation, and a thinly veiled and deep-seated anguish, she shares stories about a riveting dinner with Senators Chris Dodd and Ted Kennedy, and her friendship with Michael Jackson, among others. Fisher confides that she's become someone who "could be counted on to be amusing" at various public functions, frequently including "references to my infamous family." Fisher's father Eddie, whom she barely saw until she was 20, supplied her with drugs. Later, she nursed her father during his illnesses, which she writes about in the latter half of the book in a number of moving reflections. (Nov.)From the Publisher
"Fisher is a girl who knows how to tell a story . . . she can make us laugh, she can make us cringe, but she can also teach a great deal about the power of forgiveness."—People (4-star review)“[Fisher] never lets herself veer into woe-is-me-ism. With charming shamelessness, she conducts a brisk and witty tour of her life, delivering up her tragedies as a nonstop laugh riot.”—Elle
“Hilarious.”—Marie Claire
“There's no such thing as TMI in Carrie Fisher's world, and that's why we're hooked on her new memoir, Shockaholic.”—Ladies' Home Journal
"Fisher's memoir Shockaholic, the follow-up to her successful autobiography and one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, is similarly witty, ramshackle, and outrageous."—Washington Post
“Fisher is, at her core, a very good writer who's able to keep us entertained. Fisher deserves praise for being up front about the [electroshock] therapy…If she wants to keep talking, we'll keep listening.”—Los Angeles Times
“Hollywood's new poor little rich girl . . . continues her tour down the rabbit hole of Crazy Town, sparking us through brightly lit secret corridors while twisting self-deprecation into an art form. Fisher's wordplay is wicked, relentless, and playful as a bouncy house full of polar bear cubs.”—San Francisco Chronicle
"Amazing . . . pretty fascinating stuff."—Rosie O'Donnell (Windy City Times interview)
[Shockaholic] stands out beautifully from what has become the madding memoir crowd."—Buffalo News
“Fisher's word choices and comedic rhythm echo such literary comic masters as S.J. Perelman and Woody Allen . . . she proves the ripe adage that comedy really is tragedy plus time. Grade: A-” —Cleveland Plain Dealer