Glamorous Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast

Lauren Graham’s Memoir "Talking As Fast As I Can"

Host: Chelsea Devantez
Guest: Joe Feldman
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Chelsea Devantez and regular guest/friend Joe Feldman dive into Lauren Graham's 2016 memoir "Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between)". The discussion book-clubs the memoir through Glamorous Trash’s irreverent and pop culture-savvy lens, examining Graham’s approach to her own celebrity, behind-the-scenes stories, Gen X diet culture, vulnerable (or not-so-vulnerable) memoir writing, and the legacy of “Gilmore Girls”. The conversation is punctuated by plenty of humor and honest personal anecdotes from both Chelsea and Joe.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Impressions & Tone of the Memoir

• Quick, Light Read: Both hosts agree the memoir is easy to breeze through, especially coming off of denser novels (e.g., Zadie Smith’s "The Fraud").
  • Joe Feldman (06:31): “It was gone in a second. It was butter in a pan.”
• Jokey, Rapid-Fire Style: The book and Graham's voice emulate the cadence of Lorelai Gilmore—fast, jokey, but sometimes superficial or lacking structure.
  • Chelsea (30:55): “It’s the title of the book. Talking as fast as I can. Lots of words, little phrases. She’s not hitting hard jokes, but she’s like, coffee.”
• Disjointed Structure: The hosts frequently note the lack of narrative structure or depth.
  • Chelsea (22:09): “Another way to say that [the memoir has] no structure is just no thought. You can tell she didn’t begin a story knowing where it was going, what she wanted to say, or even what the story was going to be about.”

2. Lauren’s Background & Entry Into Acting

• Childhood is Glazed Over: Quickly summarized and lacking emotional depth.
  • Chelsea (07:47): “...her mom dips out on page nine.”
• NYU Tisch → Barnard: Lauren’s educational journey is explored, with a funny, honest critique of arts programs and the entertainment industry’s “scam” of higher ed.
  • Chelsea (10:19): “They just scooped up all the kids who want to be in entertainment...so if you see three of them as stars later on, it’s, you know...three out of 900.”
  • Theme: The struggle of chasing an artistic dream through traditional institutions, and how much of success seems based on luck, not education.

3. Memoir Vulnerability (or the Lack Thereof)

• Graham's Reluctance to Get Personal: The hosts repeatedly point out how private Graham is, often glossing over anything deeply emotional or revealing.
  • Chelsea (75:02): “Her mom gone. ... Where is her mom?”
• Skipping Over Success: Graham’s journey from struggling actress to TV star is depicted with almost comical brevity.
  • Chelsea (38:07): “She was already the star of another show…She just skips, and she’s like, now we’re dating. At the time of writing the book, they’ve still been together [with Peter Krause]. And they were together for 12 years.”

4. Diet Culture & Body Image

• Uncomfortable Diet Section: The memoir’s biggest cringe comes as Graham launches into pages of “Hollywood slimdown secrets,” veering between attempted satire and genuine, dated advice.
  • Chelsea (25:27): “Do you think she was doing a joke? Because that’s real.”
  • Joe (25:27): “No, I think that was a real how I get red carpet ready disordered eating thing.”
• Gen X Perspective: The hosts contextualize Graham’s Gen X approach to diet/appearance and discuss cultural progress (or lack thereof).
  • Joe (27:25): “I forgive it because...the idea of body neutrality or body positivity or anti diet was not even like a thing people thought about until 10 years ago.”

5. Gilmore Girls: Behind the Scenes & Legacy

• Warm, But Sanitized Recollections: Graham speaks kindly of everyone—perhaps “whitewashy,” as Joe notes, eschewing gossip or conflict. Notably, she remains positive about Scott Patterson (Luke), despite rumors of tension.
  • Joe (43:13): “She speaks kindly about every single person she did the show with. And I think we know that’s not true...”
• Key Anecdotes:
  • Arm-In-Arm Walking (44:09): Graham helped Alexis Bledel hit her marks during walk-and-talks, which created their signature on-screen walk.
  • Show’s Abrupt Cancellation (44:53): Graham learned from her agent via a restaurant phone call that the show was canceled—leaving the whole cast blindsided.
• How TV Has Changed: The slow, character-based storytelling of "Gilmore Girls" would struggle to get made today.
  • Chelsea (42:19): “Have you ever wondered why Gilmore Girls is so popular and no one can get a new Gilmore Girls on air? ...you’re noting it away from Gilmore Girls, which is character based.”
• Revival Weirdness: The reboot set felt “uncanny valley”—recreated sets that were “a couple inches off”, and psychic moments honoring late cast members.
  • Joe (68:39): “I can’t imagine how crazy that must feel to spend 10 years somewhere and then go back and have it be a little bit different.”

6. Memoiristic (Non) Revelations

• On Relationships: Graham is private, giving almost nothing about her romances—e.g., Peter Krause and supposed "almost" romance with Matthew Perry.
  • Chelsea (51:09): “Irrelevant. In his book. Book. And so, yeah, so she talks about him...But, having read the other women's accounts of Matthew Perry, you, you were fucking, you were loving, you were friendly. Yeah. Give us a detail, throw us a scrap.”
  • Joe (51:36): “It’s like, as you said, she’s a private person. Why write a memoir?”

7. Writing & Productivity Advice

• Kitchen Timer “Pomodoro” Method: The best practical tip in the memoir, though attributed entirely to a friend, not Graham herself.
  • Chelsea (60:14): “Summarize the advice for everyone listening.”
  • Joe (60:16): “The advice is basically to give yourself one hour...phone on airplane mode…just to write. And you only have two things open: the thing you’re working on and your journal...I do like timed writing bursts…”
• Critique of Advice: Good for productivity in general, but a far cry from substantive writing advice; lacks real insight into craft or revision.

8. Comic Relief & Memorable Tangents

• Phone Basket Idea (63:30): Place everyone’s phone in the center of the table at dinner—the first to grab theirs pays the bill.
  • Chelsea (64:11): “No, I think it’s a good idea. Let’s do it during Taco Bell nights. I also think this is a good writer’s room rule.”
• Ellen DeGeneres Oddness: Multiple name drops of Ellen as “super nice” are read with suspicion, leading to a wild speculation about secret Hollywood blackmail.
  • Joe (65:39): “What does Ellen have on Lauren Graham?”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Book’s Style:
  • Chelsea (22:09): “She starts every chapter, like blindfolded, driving a car. Like, where are we going?”
• On Celebrity Memoirs:
  • Chelsea (21:18): “If you are not ready to memoir, don’t memoir. Don’t do it.”
• On Gen X Diet Culture:
  • Joe (27:25): “It was too late [for body positivity]. They’d already had children by then and were already giving eating disorders to their kids.”
• On the Manifesting Power of Community:
  • Chelsea (79:49): “The giant cocaine pool in the sky has dried up…so you need to make sure the art you’re creating right now…has good community and good times.”

Important Timestamps

• Quick Impressions & Book Style: 05:08–06:40
• Childhood & Family Details: 07:46–09:30
• Acting School & “Scam” of Arts Education: 09:54–13:26
• Career Breakthroughs / Skipping Over Success: 15:22–16:08; 38:07
• Diet Culture Bit (Body Image): 21:01–28:56
• “Gilmore Girls” Anecdotes & Show Cancellation: 43:13–45:29
• Writing Advice (Pomodoro): 59:24–61:54
• On Ellen, Dax Shepherd, and Hollywood Friendships: 65:00–67:38
• Reflections on Community & Modern TV: 77:48–79:49
• Book Test (Final Thoughts): 75:45–78:02

Final Takeaways / Book Tool Test

Was the author vulnerable and the sharing of her truth?

Both: No. The book is fast, jokey, and superficial, with little actual personal or emotional depth.

Was it entertaining to read?

Joe: “As a devoted fan of Gilmore Girls... No. I was speeding through this book looking for anything about the show I love so dearly.”

Did reading this book elevate your life in any way?

Both: No. Any insights were either basic (productivity tips) or surface-level, and the nostalgia for “the good old days” of TV production was bittersweet—reminding both hosts how much has changed for the worse in entertainment.

Additional Highlights

• Unanswered Questions: Why is Graham’s mother almost entirely absent from the memoir?
• Best Anecdote: Carole King did a private performance at the end of the “A Year in the Life” shoot, and Lauren Graham couldn’t stop crying during the revival.
• Meta-Tie-In: Joe Feldman was on the “Gilmore Guys” podcast, which is referenced by Graham in her book’s bonus chapter (81:18).

Closing Thoughts

For fans, Lauren Graham’s memoir provides a breezy, surface-level look at her life and work, but leaves many personal, emotional, and professional mysteries unsolved. The discussion on Glamorous Trash is warm, witty, and honest, centering not just on the book’s contents but the broader context of female celebrity, TV writing, and our collective longing for character-rich (and less “noted”) storytelling.