Carrie Fisher uses this memoir to document her experiences with electroconvulsive therapy as a treatment for clinical depression. She details the mechanics of the procedure, including the elective loss of short-term memory and the immediate lift in her mood following the shocks. Beyond the medical focus, the narrative recounts her long-term friendship with Elizabeth Taylor, the woman who married her father, and provides an unvarnished account of her father’s decline and death. Fisher connects these anecdotes to her ongoing struggle with bipolar disorder and her history of substance abuse.
Readers interested in the intersection of celebrity culture and mental health will find a blunt assessment of psychiatric intervention here. People seek out this book to understand the reality of living with a mood disorder under public scrutiny. Fisher provides a specific example of how a person maintains an identity while managing memory gaps caused by ECT. The audience finishes the book with a clear view of how one individual balances the chaos of Hollywood lineage with the biological demands of a chronic illness.
Inward-looking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2011
- Language
- EN
