Of course, you know Carrie Fisher. And if you don't know her, and if you don't want to subject yourself to a crash course in the outcomes of celebrity marriages and divorces of the 1950s OR the development of 20th-century science fiction movies, then feel free to crawl back under your rock, and do your level best to live long and prosper.

Besides being an actress herself AND being instantly famous by being born to popular parents, Carrie is one heckuva good writer. She wrote four novels, beginning with Postcards from the Edge in 1987. The Princess Diarist is her third memoir, preceded by Wishful Drinking (2008) and Shockaholic (2011). What prompted her to write this one was finding a long-buried diary that she had kept during the summer of 1976, while she was filming the first Star Wars movie. In those pages, she debated with her then 19-year-old self about the realities and wisdom of having an every-Friday-night affair with her 35-year-old married co-star, Harrison Ford, for the three months of on-location production. So yes, here's the rest of that story, told as candidly as possible, by one-half of the pairing up of "Carrison."

But this is not the only tale that Carrie tells here. She reveals how, back then, she and her Irish hair stylist came up with the signature look for Leia. She describes with some hilarity the never-ending interview tour set up by Lucasfilm Ltd., sending her and Harrison and Mark Harmon to television studios in every corner of America in order to promote the release of this new little science fiction movie. She spends a lot of time considering what it has meant to her, over the decades, to "be" Princess Leia. And to not resemble this character quite as much anymore, 40 years later. And most of all, she talks about the grateful fans she meets at autograph sessions. She imitates a few samples of their conversations, revealing how much Star Wars and Leia's force-fullness can still mean to a lot of people. A LOT of people. It is truly amazing, to consider the impact that one single sci-fi story has had on our culture. And Carrie was fortunate enough to be smack-dab in the middle of it. Did this role become a boon, or a burden? Or maybe: was it sometimes both at once?

As is my habit now, I listened to this book (5 hours on 4 CDs) during my daily commute. And laughed out loud many times. Carrie is a very compelling and funny writer whose best critiques come at her own expense. She even segues into rhyming verse at times. And since Carrie is an actress, she uses dynamics in her dialogues and can mimic accents and specific people. She performs this book, she doesn't merely read it. And as a way to set sections apart, her daughter, Billie Lourd, reads the 1976 diary entries about the affair. Carrie carries on with all of the rest.

The hardcover edition of this book was released in November 2016. Which means that the audiobook must have been recorded during the early fall. Carrie passed away in December 2016, two days after Christmas. Her mother, Debbie Reynolds, saying that she wanted to be with Carrie, died the following day. Even their tragic deaths set them apart from the lives of ordinary people. And knowing their endings while listening to this book -- surely one of Carrie's last performances -- lends a melancholy air to the experience. In the last chapter, she talks casually about what happens to the stories of celebrities after they're gone, and how quickly fame can fade. She does this, of course, not knowing that her own final act was soon to follow.

I'm sure that I don't have to recommend The Princess Diarist to fans of Star Wars. They have all probably read it or have listened to it by now. Some of them may have even memorized parts of the text, I don't know. I'm not a Comic Con-goer. For everyone else, I recommend listening to Carrie read this book. Borrow the CD set from your local library system. Let her tell you these tales in person. Laugh with her. One of the book's best audiences, aside from the diehards, are women who have had their own experiences with, let's call them, "questionable relationships." And have alternatively kicked themselves or have forgiven themselves, in the meantime. Having seen the original movie or any of its sequels is almost optional. However, you may want to revisit the first three films -- renumbered as episodes 4-5-6! -- after hearing about Carrie and Harrison's extracurriculars. Can you catch a hint of any of their backstage shenanigans on the screen? Never mind that, for now. Just enjoy hearing Carrie talk about her life. Appreciate her talents as both a writer and an actress. And be sorry that we lost her too soon.