Carrie Fisher

My next Overcoming the Odds Article is on a cherished celebrity who, unfortunately, left us just last year.  Carrie Fisher died just one day before her mother Debbie Reynolds. I DO NOT know if Fisher's battles with manic depression contributed to her heart attack during the flight.  This is a touchy subject with a lot of people and it was certainly hard for me to write a motivational article on someone whom had this mental condition.  However, I will admit something that I believe.  Even if Carrie Fisher's death was contributed by her bipolarity, she still deserves all the respect in the world for battling it till the very end and bringing awareness about it to the masses.


As has been well documented, Carrie Fisher had bipolar disorder.  She admitted that she abused drugs and had struggles with her weight.  Even with her problems, she was not ashamed to admit to people that she had struggles with mental illness.  Most importantly, Carrie Fisher was a champion for mental health.  She raised awareness of bipolar disorder and encouraged professionals to focus more attention on the problem of mental illness.  In April of 2016, the year of her death, Carrie was awarded with an Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism from Harvard College.  According to the Harvard Gazette, Carrie stated at the ceremony "I've never been ashamed of my mental illness; it never occurred to me.  Many people thank me for talking about it and mothers can tell their kids when they are upset with the diagnosis that Princess Leia is bipolar, too."


In addition to battling bipolar disorder and bringing awareness to mental health, Carrie Fisher also overcame the stigma of living in her mother's shadow.  Debbie Reynolds was a well renowned actress whose role in Singing in the Rain is legendary.  Carrie Fisher was able to establish herself as her own person.  Obviously, Fisher's most well-known role was as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films.  However, she also played memorable roles in other great films such as Shampoo, The Burbs and When Harry Met Sally.  Even being a daughter of a legend ,and battling mental illness on top of that, didn't stop Carrie Fisher from establishing herself in the world of cinema and pop culture.


Even though the two would inhabit two different cinematic worlds, Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds would maintain a very close relationship.  It is both sad and loving that the two would pass away within a day of one another.  Here's a small tribute I wrote in honor of both actresses:

Mother and Daughter Together Forever By: Will Barber

"One sang in the rain while the other proved the force was with us. Despite their different cinematic roles, they both put a smile on all of our faces. Though we may not have known them, they were both a part of our lives in one way or another. Whether a die hard fan or a casual viewer, the majority of people could relate to their everlasting presence on the big screen. Their lives may have been rocky in one way or another and the pressures of fame could very well have been hard on their very own relationship. In the end, however, they both bonded as one. For it was meant to be that the two would leave this world together, leaving behind a legacy for the whole world to continuously cherish and adore. For it was meant to be that Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds would go on to a better place just one day apart. Just as we have their works to view throughout time, both mother and daughter are together forever!!"