Gilmore Girls is one of my comfort shows. I put it on as background noise when I’m working, reading, sleeping. It is soothing. Kelly Bishop’s The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir (read by the author – Gallery Books 2024) had that same soft comfort to it; her oh so recognizable voice captivated me as she spoke about what is arguably the real life of a show girl.
It’s relatively hard to review someone’s life, or rather the life they’ve chosen to tell us. Did Bishop have a fascinating life? Absolutely. Do I wish we went more than surface deep in talking about it? I do. What she does carry throughout the entire text and carry well is her role as a woman, daughter, and wife in an industry where she wanted her independence and HER name.
Memoirs are tricky – especially when you’re not spilling any “tea” or shining a light on any skeletons. Bishop doesn’t really spurn anyone (except maybe her no good first husband), and she speaks favorably about her castmates. She stands up for Amy when it comes to network discussions regarding both Gilmore Girls and Bunheads. It would seem if you’re in Bishop’s inner circle, you are in her circle forever. While she tells us about her connections, she holds us arm’s length; we are not deserving of that inner circle. While it makes the memoir seem incomplete, I appreciate it – Bishop’s life is her’s and she doesn’t owe us her feelings or past – we can read between the lines. But one thing she doesn’t mince words on it is that fact that Kelly Bishop is a girl’s girl. Always.
If you want to pick it up, I’d strongly recommend the audio book.
A Girl Named Tommi 