Book Review: Talking as Fast as I Can

Lauren Graham reveals authenticity in her hew autobiography

Rachael Jaeger
Staff Writer

If you enjoyed the witty and charming Lorelei Gilmore from the show Gilmore Girls, you will appreciate becoming more acquainted with her in her—that is, Lauren Graham’s— autobiography, Talking as Fast as I Can.

I also highly recommend checking out the audiobook version versus the book version since you can really hear her personality come through, especially as she rambles about her experiences in climbing the ladder to achieving the stars as an actress and most recently, a writer.

At the beginning of her introduction, Graham mentions being born in Japan and later her parents who divorced several years later. She called her dad and asked about the reason why they lived in houseboat for a while which adds to the humor while you’re listening to her. She zoned out her dad like she would Emily (Kelly Bishop) who played her mom in Gilmore Girls. Like father, like daughter, both have a way of talking so fast that they don’t realize they have gone on rabbit trails of stories until he gave her the response to her original question.

College is when Graham first got into acting and she admits her studies usually fell behind when she was involved with theatrical plays. But that wasn’t her only obstacle she encountered. She also shared her embarrassing experience of auditioning for The Barn and the summer season. Graham focused her energy in impressing the audience that when they expressed amusement, she believed they loved what she was doing, so she enhanced her dramatic performance and ended on a high note.

When she finished, the music director brought to her attention that while she had a good voice, the song was not about a fish but had more serious subject matter. The equity company that put on the auditions still gave Graham a chance, and Graham learned from that experience to pay more attention to content foremost.

Graham also shared about learning her comfort level in showing her skin—literally. In another lesson of the acting life, she had to show her bare butt to the director of a show which called for nudity. Afterwards she learned as she reflected on that experience, to listen to her instincts and to be choosy about what movies or plays she wanted to be a part of but knew that they didn’t fit for how she wanted to portray herself.

In short, she learned that every person who acts has a place and a role in certain forms of entertainment and not to be afraid to speak up. Confidence carries a person far and can be applied to any part of life as they seek to discover their place and learn when or how to say no.

In the middle of Graham’s busyness in getting into acting, heads turned the older she became because she was not dating anybody or hadn’t found a family like other celebrities. She commented on the awkwardness she felt when media would ask her about her love-life and ultimately, she would say she was just dating but would never mention anyone specific.

It reminded me of the time in Gilmore Girls when Lorelei broke up with her daughter Rory’s teacher, Max Medina. There are so many parallels between Graham and Lorelei that what I realized what attracts me to her is her authenticity and she doesn’t change who she is with her character and that is why her acting is so natural.

In short, I love how Lauren Graham appears to be no one other than herself in Talking as Fast as I Can, and it is how she encourages confidence in an individual to know who they are and in their bodies as a person attempts to diet. Her snarky attitude expands when she notes how every diet book is practically the same, except the content of what the book tells you what you should eat. Her personal observations in her career in the way she narrates connect with you as a listener and you believe she is a good friend -and who knows, maybe someday she will be.