Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
William Shakespeare, Cymbeline, Act IV, Scene II
Carrie Fisher was a cocaine addict and abused prescription medication. I am an alcoholic and a drug addict. There wasn’t a “med” I would not have abused given the chance. She had relations with partners, spouses and boyfriends in her youth – addicts are like that. I, having been the typical submarine sailor, had relations with prostitutes indiscriminately. Sex addiction was no different than alcoholism – it’s all “I, Self and Me.” She was afflicted with bipolar illness, one thing which God in His mercy spared me from having.
.
I use the comparison lest anyone think he may sit in judgment of Carrie. She was a flawed human being. And I am very sorry at her passing. What I like most about her is her advocacy for people with mental health issues. Yes, she did say that she was an “enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God.” I hope she now sees God and is at peace. I really do. Alcoholism and addiction are horrible diseases. Not everyone is as fortunate as me – to get a tough Catholic sponsor in AA and a tough Catholic priest to help him get sober. Carrie went through electro-convulsive therapy and the whole nine yards that goes with that. Not me. I had it easy in comparison. All I had to do was go to Meetings, go to Confession & Mass, and not drink or drug. We should pray for the repose of her soul, that God sees the hell she already went through and has mercy. You never know, folks, how easy we got it when compared to some others.
In her 2008 memoir; Wishful Drinking, she wrote her own obit…”Carrie Fisher dies at 60, drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra.”
https://www.google.com/amp/variety.com/2016/film/news/carrie-fisher-dead-star-wars-things-you-didnt-know-1201949027/amp/
I liked her in City Slickers. Jack Palance’s character, Curly, spoke of “one thing only,” that is the secret to Life. I pray Carrie found that One thing before today.
I’ll put her in prayer tonight.
Her mother is still alive and well enough to still be working now and again. I wonder if the experience of having to bury your children has grown more common as the fairly disciplined and (in comparison to their own parents) healthy Depression-era cohorts have entered the time in life when their children are shuffling into old age. My uncle and two of my aunts outlived one of their shirt-tails, and it would not be surprising if my uncle outlived at least one other. My uncle is 89. His contemporaries smoked cigarettes, but were otherwise moderate in their habits. There was almost no one in my parents’ circle of friends with a weight problem of much consequence and the alcoholics among them usually got off the bottle by their early 50s.
Very interesting and astute observations in the comments above. We are seldom privy to the faith journey of others. Our hope always rests ultimately in God’s mercy on His endlessly wayward children. He alone knows the intricacies of the human soul.
RIP, Princess, you brought joy to many to many children (I was one), and no doubt will for a long time to come.