Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember - the New York Times bestseller from the Gilmore Girls star

by Lauren Graham

What is this book even about if I’m not going to explain the final four words or tell you who’s the father of Rory’s baby?

If you’ve missed Gilmore Girls, the truth is that I’ve missed you too, and this book is one way of keeping our conversation going.

One of my favorites, one I’d heard over and over since I was little, was about the day I was born. What kid isn’t fascinated by their own origin story?

And sometimes, mercifully, details become blurry over time, maybe because the sharp reality is too painful to carry.

“Someday” doesn’t like to tell you when it plans to arrive.

never be the same. What does it matter what the clock said? Sometimes, mercifully, without our even asking it to, memory holds hands with fact and helps dull its edges during times when reality is too overwhelming to fully take in a joyous moment, like the birth of a child, or in a darker one, when pain is too great to comprehend, like the loss of a loved one.

if I had to guess I think Logan is the father even though it could also be fun if it’s the Wookiee, but no matter who the father is I think the baby is a girl whose name is another permutation of Lorelai, I’m going to go with Lola).

I never entered the building without remembering what it felt like to work there.

if the dry cleaners on the corner can suddenly shutter, what else can’t be counted on to stay the same, to reassure me there is stability—

Or rather, I wanted it to be a sign, so I made it into one.

journalists could shape their two pages however they wanted, and only a fraction of any of it was within my control.

Sometimes a Honda is just a Honda and I’d rather it stay that way.

And none of these feelings or actions make me a mom but they are some of what moms feel and do and some moms don’t feel or do some of those things but they are still moms.

Am I a Honda or a Pacer? I guess I’m a bit of both. But I’m okay with this contradiction. As long as I’m the one writing my own conclusion.

they spoke as if they were being chased by vigilantes.

you can study science or blueberry waffles as far as I’m concerned; the most important thing is to be a good and kind person.

rather than having a simple, happy life full of friends and books and staring at the sky for no reason.

It’s very useful to always have a friend who is much older and one who is much younger. The older friend will remind you what there is to look forward to and the younger friend will keep you telling your stories over again so you’ll remember not to forget them. An older friend will tell you you have plenty of time yet, and a younger friend will make you forget time altogether because when you’re with them you’ll feel, even for a moment, that you’re the exact same age.

I enjoy the process of how nothing turns into something, and it doesn’t really matter what that something is.

It’s just fun to see something change and get better, interesting to witness the choices the creator makes along the way.

As an actor, I’m a worker who is responsible for my piece of a product that will be marketed and sold.

I’m happy that I have these friends, and these precious days to spend with them.

The best defense, I’ve learned, is to be conscious of the only thing I can control: what it is I’m doing in the space between my ears.

I guess sometimes a squirrel is just a squirrel, but I’m still going to keep looking on the bright side.

The me that looked my “best” was a me that smoked, was underfed, ran high with anxiety, didn’t get enough sleep, and still never felt good enough. And gradually, whatever that machine was and whatever adrenaline was fueling it began to break down, and I just couldn’t do it anymore, hence, health camps. It was around that time that I began to wonder, At what point is it okay to stop trying to “look exactly the same”?

Do I need to be good at more things or simply find more enjoyment in what I’m already pretty good at?