TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
by Cheryl Strayed

I wasn’t sure what kind of reading I was going to be able to handle during the high-anxiety week of the election, which ended up an emotional and difficult week for my family, as well. Tiny Beautiful Things is formatted as letters and replies from an online advice column. And although I didn’t have the energy to contemplate becoming a better version of myself, reading lots of short pieces was easier for my brain than one long book would have been. I haven’t read Wild, Strayed’s earlier memoir, though I have seen the movie with Reece Witherspoon.

"Dear Sugar" began as an advice column on a website written by various authors. When they approached Strayed to take over the job and create the voice of Sugar, she agreed with some trepidation. But this collection of letters is truly a gift. It’s funny and moving and practical and I understand why it’s been spun off into a podcast and television show over the years. Most of the questions are about relationships, how or if to move to the next level or whether to stay in or leave a troubled partnership. Sugar’s advice is always full of compassion, but most often boils down to, "It’s your life and you are responsible for making it better."

I experienced Tiny Beautiful Things as closer to a collection of short stories than an advice book. This allowed me to really enjoy these little vignettes and even to find some inspiration too. (Lily)