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Cheryl Strayed

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.cherylstrayed.com

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CherylStrayed

Genre

Fiction, Memoir, Travel

Member Since

November 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/cstrayed

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Cheryl Strayed is the author of four books: Tiny Beautiful Things, Torch, Brave Enough, and the #1 New York Times bestseller, Wild. She's also the author of the popular Dear Sugar Letters, currently on Substack and the host of two hit podcasts--Sugar Calling and Dear Sugars. You can find links to her events and answers to FAQ on her web site: http://www.cherylstrayed.com/ ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How are your feet? If any detail from a book stuck in my head, it was that one. I felt your pain.

Cheryl Strayed Jacqueline,

Your question makes me laugh! It's the number one question I'm asked about Wild. I'm happy to report that my feet recovered entirely. I hav…moreJacqueline,

Your question makes me laugh! It's the number one question I'm asked about Wild. I'm happy to report that my feet recovered entirely. I have all ten toenails now!

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Cheryl(less)

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Cheryl - firstly, thank you! And secondly, I was wondering if you ever struggle balancing the needs of your family and your own need for solitude, silence, and time to think? I have a husband and two young toddlers, and sometimes I feel like taking the time and space I need to be happy results in them being unhappy.

Cheryl Strayed Oh my goodness, Kelly, yes! I so relate to your question. I've decided to not even try to apply the word "balance" to my life. There is no balance! I …moreOh my goodness, Kelly, yes! I so relate to your question. I've decided to not even try to apply the word "balance" to my life. There is no balance! I don't aspire to it anymore. I aspire to do the best I can do in every realm and forgive myself when I fail at doing well. You are in the very thick of it right now, with two toddlers. My kids were toddlers when I wrote WILD and honestly I have no idea how I did it. I look back and it's a blur. I wrote when they napped. I wrote after they went to bed (and I made SURE they were in bed by 7:30 every night). I wrote a few days a week for a few hours at a time when they went to nursery school or they had a sitter. But I always felt stretched and tired and like I wasn't doing enough as either a writer or a mom. So you have my sympathy.

My advice? Find time to meet your own needs, even if you can only meet them a little bit. No one will be happy if you are miserable. You can be a great mom and still take time away from your children. There are all sorts of ways to do this but the FIRST way is to decide it must be done. Once you make yourself part of the equation, you will find a way to make it happen. My kids are 10 and 11 now and they are far more independent these days. They still need me lots but it gets easier to complete a thought. So hang on. Do your best. You'll all be better for it.

Best,

Cheryl(less)

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Cheryl Strayed’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 1,056,567 ratings · 68,968 reviews · 40 distinct works • Similar authors

	Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail 4.07 avg rating — 857,114 ratings — published 2012 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author), Steve Almond (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 4.15 avg rating — 139,229 ratings — published 2012 — 66 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two Women Walk into a Bar 4.03 avg rating — 21,260 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Brave Enough 3.91 avg rating — 11,460 ratings — published 2015 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Torch 3.63 avg rating — 8,361 ratings — published 2006 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Telling 3.95 avg rating — 7,645 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best American Essays 2013 by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Robert Atwan (Series Editor), Poe Ballantine (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.92 avg rating — 1,196 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best American Travel Writing 2018 by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author), Jason Wilson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.70 avg rating — 378 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Going Om: Real-Life Stories On and Off the Yoga Mat by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), Melissa Carroll (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.69 avg rating — 225 ratings — published 2014 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Out of Line: Women on the Verge of a Breakthrough by Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Roxane Gay (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Caroline Kepnes (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.60 avg rating — 114 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Cheryl Strayed…

At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books...

Cheryl is Currently Reading

Cheryl Strayed is currently reading

Did You Ever Have a Family

by Bill Clegg (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 02, 2021 05:55PM

Quotes by Cheryl Strayed (?)

“Most things will be okay eventually, but not everything will be. Sometimes you'll put up a good fight and lose. Sometimes you'll hold on really hard and realize there is no choice but to let go. Acceptance is a small, quiet room.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

1107 likes

“I'll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don't choose. We'll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn't carry us. There's nothing to do but salute it from the shore.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

tags: choices, life

979 likes

“What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I'd done something I shouldn't have? What if I was a liar and a cheat and there was no excuse for what I'd done other than because it was what I wanted and needed to do? What if I was sorry, but if I could go back in time I wouldn't do anything differently than I had done? What if I'd actually wanted to fuck every one of those men? What if heroin taught me something? What if yes was the right answer instead of no? What if what made me do all those things everyone thought I shouldn't have done was what also had got me here? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?”
― Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

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Polls

What do you want to read for the February 2025 Book of the Month?

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

Memoir of a woman meets her life unraveling with a soul-searching solo hike of the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Washington.

1 vote, 50.0%

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo (2022)

Memoir of a radio show producer who on learning she has Complex PTDS, applies her journalistic/narrative skills to she light with her experience of trauma and recovery.

1 vote, 50.0%

The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook by Bruce D. Perry (2007)

Perry explains the effects of terrible childhood trauma.

0 votes, 0.0%

I'm Glad My Mom Died
by Jennette McCurdy (2022)

A by a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

0 votes, 0.0%

Educated by Tara Westover (2018)

A memoir of growing up oppressed by her parents worldview, discovering history/reality without her parents dogma, and learning to navigate the world everyone else knows, and relate to the extent she can with her family.

0 votes, 0.0%

2 total votes

2 comments

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The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2297	777	May 31, 2012 09:02PM
Crazy Challenge C...: * Shelf Reporting - Battle of the Bookshelves, Battle 1	48	150	Jul 29, 2012 11:29PM
Crazy Challenge C...: R1: Happy Bookers ~ Team #3	893	144	Aug 09, 2012 01:00PM

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