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allield's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
carinnegeil's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I picked up and put down this book a lot over the past two months.. sometimes because I just wanted to stretch it out and savour it, sometimes so I could meditate on something she wrote, sometimes because a story hit so close to home that I physically felt an ache in my chest reading it and needed a good cry. I don’t think I could possibly recommend a book more highly and I know I’ll continue to pick it up and put it down for years to come.
wallflower_jacqueline's review against another edition
reread: 5/18/24
i came back to this book intermittently over the past couple years, but this is only the second time reading it straight through. cheryl strayed seems like a fascinating person and i must read her memoir at some point. as for her advice, some of it was a balm to the experience of living (as advertised) and some of it made me want to scream a little bit. then again, i couldn't do any better. maybe i need to examine myself more, i don't know. maybe i wasn't in the right mood to read about such shattering concepts as deservingness and responsibility and hope. maybe i was projecting judgement that wasn't really there onto her words. idk i'm going through it rn
i came back to this book intermittently over the past couple years, but this is only the second time reading it straight through. cheryl strayed seems like a fascinating person and i must read her memoir at some point. as for her advice, some of it was a balm to the experience of living (as advertised) and some of it made me want to scream a little bit. then again, i couldn't do any better. maybe i need to examine myself more, i don't know. maybe i wasn't in the right mood to read about such shattering concepts as deservingness and responsibility and hope. maybe i was projecting judgement that wasn't really there onto her words. idk i'm going through it rn
sarahknits's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
It made me uncomfortable and felt like a voyeur for the first few stories because of how openly Strayed talks about honest raw feelings. She is exceptional at recognizing, naming and discussing these emotions in a way that feels like she’s giving you a warm embrace and a kick in the ass at the same time.
roxymaybe's review against another edition
4.0
This was good, well written; it covered a lot of heavy topics with grace and clarity.
savaging's review against another edition
3.0
Do you want advice? You want to be told what-for? Whereby? Whatnext? Again and again, sweet peas?
And isn't this why I do tarot card readings and interpret dreams? - because we all long for someone else to take us in their hands and push us in one direction, unambiguously. We have to believe it matters, our decision. We have to believe we've chosen the Right Thing, so we can begin biting our nails over the following right-or-wrong conundrum.
But probably Cheryl Strayed herself knows this secret: we carry ourselves whichever direction we move, and whichever choice, we'll find ourselves there.
You are certain to disagree with at least one of Strayed's strongly-worded opinions. But maybe the real advice isn't the opinions but the strong words. A meta-advice-column: this is how to write advice. Because she does clearly have a knack for that.
And isn't this why I do tarot card readings and interpret dreams? - because we all long for someone else to take us in their hands and push us in one direction, unambiguously. We have to believe it matters, our decision. We have to believe we've chosen the Right Thing, so we can begin biting our nails over the following right-or-wrong conundrum.
But probably Cheryl Strayed herself knows this secret: we carry ourselves whichever direction we move, and whichever choice, we'll find ourselves there.
You are certain to disagree with at least one of Strayed's strongly-worded opinions. But maybe the real advice isn't the opinions but the strong words. A meta-advice-column: this is how to write advice. Because she does clearly have a knack for that.
lululem's review against another edition
4.0
”don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn't true anymore.”
i randomly stumbled upon this book browsing the library shelves and something about it stuck out to me. i loved the colour and simplicity of the cover. i really loved the title. anyways, im really happy i judged this book by the cover because it really was a tiny beautiful thing. (ok its not that tiny but go with it. books are small though if you think about it). ANYWAYS. this was great.
sugar gives advice on people’s struggles in life using her personal experiences and insight to guide her. she is fantastic at this. she puts her all into her responses to the letters.
sugar, pls can you be the voice in my head that guides me?? your advice is great. thanks.
ok but i will point out that sometimes she would randomly insert terms of endearment that sounded condescending. things like ‘my anxious cinnamon roll’, ‘my pumpkin,’ ‘sweet pea,’ “junebug,’ “honeybun,’ ‘immaculate little peach’ theres just so many. i honestly think its meant to sooth and comfort the reader but i just didn’t like it. i think its a personal thing. but the advice columnist literally goes by sugar so idk why im surprised.
another thing is that she answered very similar letters at times throughout the book, and her advice was pretty much the same for each of those scenarios. it would have been better had the repetition been cut.
anyways i don’t want that to take away from how great her advice was, and how sometimes she really did calm me and rationalize the thoughts in my mind. i liked the stories she would share of her experiences that she related to the write ins she would get. it helped me see her as someone who wasn’t just there to hear and give advice but as someone who can relate and help us feel less alone. i do have to point out that it felt as though sometimes she got a little lost in her own stories that we deviated a little from the point. but i didn’t mind it as much as others have.
i didn’t relate to all the stories of course, but many times the advice she gave connected to me in some way or another. im still young, and a lot of the write ins came from people much older than me. they’ve had a lot more life experiences. but that didn’t make me love this book any less, and it didn’t mean there wasn’t something i could take from it.
sugar gave helpful, insightful advice. it was gentle at times and tough when needed, but always very honest and realistic. there are many many wonderful things to learn from this book. and i will probably come back to this and reread some of the advice she gave out.
quotes:
”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.”
“nobody will protect you from your suffering. you have to endure it. your have to live through it and love it and move on and be better for it and run as far as you can in the direction of your best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by your own desire to heal.”
“you cannot convince people to love you. this is an absolute rule. no one will ever give you love because you want him or her to give it. real love moves freely in both directions. don’t waste your time on anything else.”
“the useless days will add up to something. the shitty waitressing jobs. the hours writing in your journal. the long meandering walks. the hours reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people’s diaries and wondering about sex and God and whether you should shave under your arms or not. these things are your becoming.”
“let yourself be gutted. let it open you. start here.”
“the reality is we often become our kindest, most ethical selves only by seeing what it feels like to be a selfish jackass first.”
“i can't say when you'll get love or how you'll find it or even promise you that you will. i can only say you are worthy of it and that it's never too much to ask for it. love is our essential nutrient. without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing we receive.“
i randomly stumbled upon this book browsing the library shelves and something about it stuck out to me. i loved the colour and simplicity of the cover. i really loved the title. anyways, im really happy i judged this book by the cover because it really was a tiny beautiful thing. (ok its not that tiny but go with it. books are small though if you think about it). ANYWAYS. this was great.
sugar gives advice on people’s struggles in life using her personal experiences and insight to guide her. she is fantastic at this. she puts her all into her responses to the letters.
sugar, pls can you be the voice in my head that guides me?? your advice is great. thanks.
ok but i will point out that sometimes she would randomly insert terms of endearment that sounded condescending. things like ‘my anxious cinnamon roll’, ‘my pumpkin,’ ‘sweet pea,’ “junebug,’ “honeybun,’ ‘immaculate little peach’ theres just so many. i honestly think its meant to sooth and comfort the reader but i just didn’t like it. i think its a personal thing. but the advice columnist literally goes by sugar so idk why im surprised.
another thing is that she answered very similar letters at times throughout the book, and her advice was pretty much the same for each of those scenarios. it would have been better had the repetition been cut.
anyways i don’t want that to take away from how great her advice was, and how sometimes she really did calm me and rationalize the thoughts in my mind. i liked the stories she would share of her experiences that she related to the write ins she would get. it helped me see her as someone who wasn’t just there to hear and give advice but as someone who can relate and help us feel less alone. i do have to point out that it felt as though sometimes she got a little lost in her own stories that we deviated a little from the point. but i didn’t mind it as much as others have.
i didn’t relate to all the stories of course, but many times the advice she gave connected to me in some way or another. im still young, and a lot of the write ins came from people much older than me. they’ve had a lot more life experiences. but that didn’t make me love this book any less, and it didn’t mean there wasn’t something i could take from it.
sugar gave helpful, insightful advice. it was gentle at times and tough when needed, but always very honest and realistic. there are many many wonderful things to learn from this book. and i will probably come back to this and reread some of the advice she gave out.
quotes:
”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.”
“nobody will protect you from your suffering. you have to endure it. your have to live through it and love it and move on and be better for it and run as far as you can in the direction of your best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by your own desire to heal.”
“you cannot convince people to love you. this is an absolute rule. no one will ever give you love because you want him or her to give it. real love moves freely in both directions. don’t waste your time on anything else.”
“the useless days will add up to something. the shitty waitressing jobs. the hours writing in your journal. the long meandering walks. the hours reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people’s diaries and wondering about sex and God and whether you should shave under your arms or not. these things are your becoming.”
“let yourself be gutted. let it open you. start here.”
“the reality is we often become our kindest, most ethical selves only by seeing what it feels like to be a selfish jackass first.”
“i can't say when you'll get love or how you'll find it or even promise you that you will. i can only say you are worthy of it and that it's never too much to ask for it. love is our essential nutrient. without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing we receive.“