Wonder Women: Cheryl Strayed
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 at 3:41PM Let's get Wild, everyone, and start cheering on "wonder women" in our lives!
;)
By Spencer Coile
As writers we are told to write about what we know. For many, this includes film, television, or anything pop culture related (hello, everyone). For Cheryl Strayed, what she knows best is her own life. Growing up in a home with her two siblings, mother, and abusive father might have been enough, but it was only after her mother's death in 1991 (as Strayed calls it, her "genesis story") and eventual spiral into drugs and promiscuous sex that she chose to trek from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail, a journey of 1,100 miles.
Fear not, for those wishing to experience this quest with Strayed! It is all detailed for us in her masterful 2012 memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail and its 2014 film adaptation film starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern...
Beyond functioning as a well-written and thoughtful look into one particular woman's life, Wild is a tale about the strength of the human spirit. Wild is not about recovery entirely, nor is it merely about the loss of her mother. Wild is moreso about the struggle of coming into one's own, to feel as if we belong in our own skin, and the lengths you may have to go to achieve that wholeness. Watching Strayed grapple with this discovery is deeply profound and as timely as ever.
;)
Her work, though, extends far beyond her one bestseller. During her time working for the literary magazine, The Rumpus, Strayed wrote as "Sugar," an anonymous advice columnist. She later compiled her best entries into one book titled, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. What is most striking about this work is the way Strayed imbues her own life story into the advice and replies to readers. Offering insight into romantic relationships and coping with loss, Strayed spins away from the typical "Dear Abby" approach with tales that are personable, profound, and deeply moving. Her life, while not representative of everyone's, provides a wonderful backdrop for us to come to terms with our own pain, happiness, and fears for the future.
If one book was not enough to cover what is going on in the world, again, fear not. Strayed currently co-hosts a podcast rendition of her advice column, titled Dear Sugar alongside fellow writer, Steve Almond. It is the perfect antidote to bad news. Her show, much like her book, is filled with warmth and the goodness that can live in humanity.
If that is not a cause for rejoice, I do not know what is.
For many, Strayed hit the big-time when Reese Witherspoon's film company, Pacific Standard optioned Wild as a film before it was even published. Marking the first time collaboration between Witherspoon and Jean-Marc Vallée, Wild was released in 2014 with much fanfare and two Oscar nominations (for Witherspoon in Leading Actress and Dern in Supporting Actress). Importantly, it put Strayed even more on the map than she had previously been. It was through the film that I learned who Strayed was, and it sent me down a rabbit hole of her work. Seeking the guidance of someone you've never met may sound odd, but Strayed offers that safe space to ask questions about yourself and about the world.
As we continue our hike into an unknown political and social climate, let's never take Strayed's sentiments for granted:
Let yourself be gutted. Let it open you. Start here."
Times are tough, there is no disputing that. But to deny ourselves the goodness around us, which is just as consuming as the darkness, would be rejecting the joy and beauty of life. Strayed has instilled that into her readers and listeners. And it is through her feminist-tinged and deeply personal work that the world is just a little bit lighter, and perhaps we can wake up tomorrow to acknowledge that were are at least slightly better people than we were the day before.
Reader Comments (5)
'Wild' was my favorite movie of 2014. I still turn to it whenever I truly need to face myself. A truly important movie to me.
What I think is most noteworthy about her book is the empathy and real compassion sugar shows for those who wrote her. She accepts them unconditionally and doesn't lecture them for not doing the 'right thing.' Her success is a real testament to how groundbreaking the idea that love and acceptance are necessary in the self-help genre is.
--mikah
GOD Wild is so good! Both the book and the film. I can't believe I didn't think Reese was good casting when I first heard about it, because she was actually pretty perfect. And how good was 2014 that she would only BARELY make my top five?!?
I've read multiple 'Dear Sugar' columns and never realized it was Strayed!
I love Wild.
I spent all of Wild rolling my eyes at how grotesquely on the nose the name Cheryl Strayed was (cause she strayed in her life and now has to be reborn in the wilderness or something) before realizing she was a real person.