Elisa Donovan is nothing short of ’90s royalty. Having prominent roles in Clueless , Sabrina the Teenage Witch , and Beverly Hills 90210 , Elisa is a familiar face to anyone who grew up with these cult classic films and TV shows.
Now, the actress is giving fans access to her life like never before with her new memoir, “Wake Me When You Leave” — a story about love, loss, and rebuilding.
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Diply had the chance to sit down with Elisa recently and discuss the memoir, which debuted in-store and online on June 8.
Elisa Donovan’s work is forever etched in pop culture history.
Born in Northport, Long Island, Elisa grew up studying acting, writing, and photography. While her acting career has been successful for nearly 3 decades, her writing career has been just as fruitful. The actress has been voted Reader Favorite as a Celebrity Mom Blogger for People.com and now, she’s publishing her first book, which is set to be turned into a film project as well!
The timeline that serves as the backdrop for Elisa’s book follows a series of heartbreaking events in her life — her new show getting unexpectedly cancelled, her relationship ending, and her father getting diagnosed with terminal cancer.
After the death of her father, Elisa turned to writing as a way to cope with her grief.
“I’ve always been a writer and that’s one of the ways I creatively express myself,” she explained.
“It was to help me go through the process and understand my own feelings because it was all so discombobulating and confusing.”
Her memoir, “Wake Me When You Leave” follows her journey through grief and how her father helped her heal through series of visitations and dreams.
“I didn’t realize how upset I was,” she admitted. “The writing of it was for my own personal healing.”
“Part of the reason I wrote this book was to hopefully open up people’s trust in sharing their experiences and their challenges and their difficulties. Ultimately, these things can enhance our lives and make us closer to one another.”
At the beginning, however, the process was difficult.
“Initially, I couldn’t write anything,” Elisa explained. “And then, it really started to bubble inside me and I needed to.”
“The writing was cathartic,” she continued. “It was part of the healing process for sure.”
The film version of Wake Me When You Leave is currently in development. The film will mark Elisa’s Screenwriting and Directorial debuts.
“Both of these things had been getting some traction for a period of time. The film has been in development for two years,” she explained, hoping the book launch will help get the movie ready for production by the Fall.
“The film version is a fictionalized version of the book,” she clarified. “However, it’s very much the same story.”
When we asked Elisa if she was nervous to one day see her book on the big screen, she insisted she was eagerly awaiting that moment.
“I’m excited to watch other actors bring these people to life… I’m really looking forward to that collaborative process. I’m so excited for that part.”
“This project really feels like my life’s work, without sounding too ridiculous or extreme, but it really does feel like these two projects and this story is very much a part of me and something that I’m meant to do.”
“The entire project feels very divinely guided,” she smiled.
“I hope it brings a lot of people healing and joy and humor… I hope that people feel a great sense of what it is to be human and to exist on this planet.”
Order your copy of “Wake Me When You Leave” here .
