Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge
Sheila Weller2019

A remarkably candid biography of the remarkably candid—and brilliant—Carrie Fisher

In her 2008 bestseller, Girls Like Us, Sheila Weller—with heart and a profound feel for the times—gave us a surprisingly intimate portrait of three icons: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. Now she turns her focus to one of the most loved, brilliant, and iconoclastic women of the modern age: the actress, writer, daughter, and mother Carrie Fisher.

She traces Fisher’s life from her Hollywood royalty roots to her untimely and shattering death just days before Christmas 2016. Her mother was the seemingly idyllic Debbie Reynolds; her father, the famously ne’er-do-well Eddie Fisher (who runs off with Elizabeth Taylor). Weller exposes us to the demons that haunted Fisher all her life, particularly bipolar disorder and a drug addiction from which she could never quite free herself. We follow her career from her debut in Shampoo to the fame-making Star Wars; dive into her serious relationships with Paul Simon and the talent agent Bryan Lourd; witness her metamorphosis from actress to bestselling author; and watch her turn into a casual spokesperson for mental illness.

Sourced by friends, colleagues, and witnesses to all stages of Fisher’s life, Carrie Fisher is an affectionate and even-handed portrayal of a woman whose unsurpassed honesty is a reminder of how things should be. This is a big book about a small woman with a larger-than-life spirit and impact.