In this blog post, a mom with mental health issues and a love of Star Wars reflects on how Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Princess Leia, became an inspiration and role model. The post explores Fisher’s struggles with mental illness, her impact as a mental health advocate, and how her books have helped the author understand and accept her own mental health issues.
The Space Mom We All Needed: How Carrie Fisher Helped Me Accept My Mental Illness
Carrie Fisher died five years ago today. Known for her role as Princess/General Leia Organa in the Stars Wars film franchise (among other roles), she was a respected writer and a mental health warrior. Dogged by mental illness and drug addiction for most of her life, it would have been easy to let both diseases get the best of her.
Though her death was and still is tragic, the fact that she was able to find a way to survive both for as long as she did will forever be a huge inspiration to me.
I am mentally ill. I can say that. I am not ashamed of that. I survived that, I’m still surviving it, but bring it on. Better me than you.
May her memory forever be a blessing. Z”l.
Today is the birthday of the late, great, Carrie Fisher.
I could extoll the virtues of this all around badass, writer, icon, and mental health warrior. But I will let her speak for herself.
Happy Birthday, wherever you are.
A good biography does much more than provide the basic facts found on any general internet search. It introduces the reader to the real person that is sometimes hidden behind history and the PR machine.
In 2019, Sheila Weller published Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge. The biography tells the story of the late and beloved actress, writer, and mental health advocate. Born to Hollywood royalty Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, her early years were not all sunshine and roses. Her most famous role was that of Princess Leia in the Star Wars movie franchise. Like her off-screen counterpart, Leia was a bad-ass, smart mouthed woman who did not conform to the idea of what a woman (and a princess) should be. She also lived with bipolar disorder and addiction, demons that stayed with her until the very end.
I loved this book. As much as I knew about Ms. Fisher before I read it, I learned even more. She was intelligent, incredibly funny, smartass, loyal to those she loved, and vulnerable. What made this one special was that it showed her humanity. It is a complete picture of a woman who has inspired generations of fans, women, and those living with mental illness to not be afraid of being who they are.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
When the first Star Wars movie, Episode 4: A New Hope premiered in 1977, there was just one prominent woman: Princess Leia (the late Carrie Fisher). Over the last 44 years, the Star Wars universe grew in ways that I guess was unexpected in the late 1970’s. That growth includes a group of female characters who are just as badass and important to the narrative as Leia was then and still is today.
In 2018, Amy Ratcliffe published Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy. This book tells the stories of a variety of female characters that are not always obvious to the fanbase. While some of the obvious names on the list other than Leia are Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), it contains what can only be described as a conclusive inventory of women within that world.
Ratcliffe leaves no stone unturned when it came to the women who are profiled in the book. Sith, Jedi, human, non-human, etc, are all given the spotlight. The artwork is beautiful and worth framing by itself.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
Today is the 4th anniversary of the passing of Carrie Fisher. Though somethings have changed, the ache remains. Though I never had the chance to meet her, her example of living in spite of the challenges she faced continues to be an inspiration.
In honor of everything she represented and still represents, I will let her Star Wars co-star and on-screen twin, Mark Hamill take it from here.
Wherever you are Carrie, we miss you. RIP.
Today would have been Carrie Fisher‘s 64th birthday.
Instead of droning as to why she was and still is an inspiration to millions, I will let her work speak for itself.
We miss you, Carrie.
#Carrieonforever
Among the non-acting jobs that one can have in Hollywood, the most unique is that of a personal assistant. That person is as close to their boss as a family member or friend, but at the end of the day, they are still a paid employee.
A Star is Bored, written by Byron Lane, was just released last month. Charlie Besson is working a dead end, third shift job at a local news station in Los Angeles. Then he gets an opportunity to interview for a personal assistant for actress and writer Kathi Kannon. Over the next three years, Charlie becomes much more than her assistant. But will he able to live his own life, or spend the rest of his days living vicariously through Kathi?
I loved this book. Lane, who worked as an assistant to the late Star Wars actress and writer Carrie Fisher, uses his personal experience to tell Charlie’s story. Like her real life counterpart, Kathi is bawdy, outspoken, and emotional, but also feels deeply. Though he is aware of Kathi’s flaws, Charlie remains loyal, in spite of the nagging urge to go his own way.
I absolutely recommend it.
The core of any legitimate democracy is the right to vote. On the surface, voting is a simple act. But if one were to dig a little deeper, they would see that voting is much more than simply casting your ballot on election day.
Today is the 100 anniversary of the 19th Amendment. In the span of history, 100 years is not a long time. But in the history of the fight for female equality in the United States and around the world, 100 years means the difference between being chattel and beating treated as a full human being.
The women of that generation saw voting as only the first step. They understood then, as we do now, that gaining the vote was only the first step in a long path ahead of them.
Given our breathtaking progress in the past century, there is a part of me that is bursting with pride. But another part of me knows that legislation cannot wash away centuries of sexism and double standards. That requires education and changing of hearts and minds.
Though there are many issues that must be dealt with (including the fact that women of color are still fighting for their rights), the fact that we have come as far as we have is nothing to sneeze at.
Ladies, we know that today is a celebration. But we also know that there much more work to be done. Today, we take a breath and a moment to enjoy the progress that has been made. But tomorrow, the work begins anew.
Writergurlny 
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