All the feels! Gilmore Girls’ tribute to Cheryl Strayed’s acclaimed book, Wild, hit one fan particularly hard: the author herself.
In a sweet post to Instagram Saturday, November 26, the 48-year-old writer expressed her sincerest thanks to the people behind the popular Netflix revival for making her story a part of theirs.
“Gobsmacked & honored by the Wild homage in @gilmoregirls Year in the Life,” Strayed captioned a split-screen shot of Lorelai (Lauren Graham) reading her book, and then donning a camping backpack à la Reese Witherspoon in the 2014 film adaptation.
“Like so many people, in Lorelai and Rory, I see pieces of myself, my mother, and my daughter,” she continued. “That scene when Lorelai wanders behind the closed store near the trail and looks out across the wild landscape then calls her mom? Took my breath away and made me cry (after laughing at so many other parts).”
Strayed then thanked series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, her partner Daniel Palladino and actresses Graham and Alexis Bledel, who plays Rory on the series, for bringing the poignant story to life. “Y’all touched so many of our hearts,” the author wrote, using the hashtag, “#staywild.”
Wild, which was published in 2012, chronicles Strayed’s own months-long hike along the Pacific Crest Trail as a way to cope with the loss of her mother.
In Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Lorelai is trying desperately to repair her relationship with on-again, off-again beau Luke (Scott Patterson), and she tries twice to embark on the soul-searching journey — to a surprising conclusion.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is currently streaming on Netflix.
