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A review by lululem
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
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.“