The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir

Throughout The Third Gilmore Girl, Kelly Bishop emphasizes the key roles of fortitude and tenacity in her life. The author suggests that resilience has been equally as important as talent in her show business career and that it has also contributed to her personal happiness. Although setbacks, challenges, and failures have marked her journey, she has ultimately overcome them.

From the memoir’s beginning, Bishop is open about the adversity she has faced in her life. Through her experiences, the author highlights how rejection, criticism, and professional setbacks are an integral feature of the show business industry. She also recounts a series of personal traumas, from failed romantic relationships to financial hardship (due to her first husband’s gambling debts) and losing her beloved mother and second husband. In describing her coping strategies, the author intimates that resilience involves not just enduring adversity but also learning, adapting, and moving forward with renewed purpose. For example, when her childhood dream of joining the American Ballet Theatre in New York was shattered, she was pragmatic and did not dwell on the failure. Needing to earn money, she learned new dance styles, becoming a Las Vegas showgirl and a chorus dancer in musicals. Similarly, before she reached the age when a dancer’s opportunities become scarce, Bishop transitioned to acting.