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The Princess Diarist
The Princess Diarist
Carrie Fisher | 2017 | Biography
10
7.5 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is Carrie Fisher's memoir of her time during the filming of Star Wars Episode IV, including entries from the diaries she kept during that time that she recently discovered. I think this was the first time that Fisher really talked about her relationship with Leia, and what Leia has offered to her over the years. She also talks about her fans, and how much they mean to her and everything about the ending of the book was so much more heartbreaking given the circumstances. I was genuinely surprised by how touching her closing chapters were, in regards to her relationship with Leia and the Star Wars community as a whole.

It was a little surreal reading this so soon after both her death and her mother's, as she talks frequently about her mother in the book, as well as mentioning a couple of times, in an offhand manner, how she would like to be remembered for certain events. Perhaps it was too soon for me after her death. Not that I was ever necessarily a huge Carrie Fisher fan, but I've certainly been a Star Wars fan my whole life (I saw the original Star Wars when it was released - I was 3), so while there was never necessarily a Carrie Fisher in a my life, there has always been a Princess Leia, and it seemed to hit home a little for me. It also made me unreasonably angry that Carrie Fisher died; in a year of so many celebrity deaths, it seemed like just another death to some, but it made me angry because she overcame so much, and still had so much to do and offer to the world. So, yeah - maybe I should have put a little time in between her death and reading this book, knowing it was her last, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. It is typically funny in that Carrie Fisher way, but equally sad given the circumstances. I fairly certain, however, that again, in that typically funny Carrie Fisher way, she would have found some way to turn her death into an appropriate epilogue to this book.
  
Letters Written in White
Letters Written in White
Kathryn Perez | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I liked Kathryn's view on what Riah's afterlife was like. It was a different perspective and I enjoyed being introduced to a new idea on life after death. However, I think the hype made me feel a little let down. I won't say I didn't cry, watching Riah's kids and husband go through the grief after losing her sent me into a fit of tears - but the rest wasn't as nearly emotionally crippling as I had expected it to be. I was happy with the ending, that Riah was finally able to find some peace, but I was honestly kind of hoping we would discover the whole thing was a dream during a coma or something she'd endured after such blood loss (I know, I'm a hopeless romantic). I do believe the story sends a great message and reading the letters at the end only strengthened it; I also think this would be a great read for someone who's personally dealing with depression and feels like there's no way out.