Cheryl Strayed
Author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
About the Author
Cheryl Strayed, née Nyland, was born on September 17, 1968 in Spangler, Pennsylvania. She is an American memoirist, novelist and essayist. Her second book, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail was published in the United States on March 20, 2012, and has been translated into more show more than thirty languages. It is an Oprah Book Club 2.0 choice, made the New York Times Bestseller list and was optioned for film rights by Reese Witherspoon even before it was published. The film is scheduled to be released in 2014. Strayed's first book, the novel Torch, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in February 2006. She attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating magna cum laude with a double major in English and Women's Studies. A long-time feminist activist, Strayed served on the first board of directors for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Cheryl Strayed at Deadline Contenders Television at Directors Guild Of America on April 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California
Works by Cheryl Strayed
Associated Works
Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump's America (2017) — Contributor — 253 copies, 10 reviews
Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present (2007) — Contributor — 220 copies, 3 reviews
Tasting Life Twice: Literary Lesbian Fiction by New American Writers (1995) — Contributor — 129 copies
An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers (2014) — Contributor — 87 copies, 4 reviews
Mentors, Muses & Monsters: 30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives (2009) — Contributor — 71 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Nyland, Cheryl (birth name)
- Birthdate
- 1968-09-17
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Minnesota
Syracuse University
McGregor High School
University of St Paul - Occupations
- memoirist
novelist
essayist - Organizations
- Vida: Women in Literary Arts
- Agent
- Janet Silver (Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Agency)
- Short biography
- Cheryl Strayed (born September 17, 1968) is an American memoirist, novelist, essayist and podcast host. The author of four books, her award-winning writing has been published widely in anthologies and major magazines.
Strayed's first book, the novel Torch, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in February 2006 to positive critical reviews. Torch was a finalist for the Great Lakes Book Award and selected by The Oregonian as one of the top ten books of 2006 by writers living in the Pacific Northwest. In October 2012, Torch was re-issued by Vintage Books with a new introduction by Strayed.
Strayed's second book, the memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, was published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf on March 20, 2012. It has been translated into 30 languages. The week of its publication, Wild debuted at number 7 on the New York Times Best Seller list in hardcover non-fiction. In June 2012, Oprah Winfrey announced that Wild was her first selection for her new Oprah's Book Club 2.0. The next month Wild reached number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, a spot it held for seven consecutive weeks. The paperback edition of Wild, published by Vintage Books in March 2013, spent 126 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The book has also been a bestseller around the world—in the UK, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and elsewhere. Wild won the Barnes & Noble Discover Award and the Oregon Book Award.
In July 2012, Vintage Books published Strayed's third book: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. The book debuted in the advice and self-help category on the New York Times Best Seller list at number 5 and it has also been published internationally. Tiny Beautiful Things is a selection of Strayed's popular "Dear Sugar" advice columns, which she wrote for no pay for the literary website The Rumpus from 2010 to 2012.
Strayed's fourth book, Brave Enough, was published in the United States by Knopf on October 27, 2015, and in the United Kingdom a week later by Atlantic Books. It debuted in the advice and self-help category on the New York Times Best Seller list at number 10. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Spangler, Pennsylvania, USA
- Places of residence
- Portland, Oregon, USA
Chaska, Minnesota, USA
Aitkin County, Minnesota, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Discussions
Gone Girls, Found in Reading Books by Women (February 2015)
Reviews
When Cheryl Strayed's mother died from cancer in the early nineties, Cheryl was left bereft and grieving, in a self-destructive life where it seemed like everything was falling apart. After her divorce and four years after her mom passed away, she decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail solo and join a friend in Portland. Ridiculously underprepared, Cheryl nevertheless perseveres, maturing and learning about herself along the way.
This book was a best seller when in came out in 2012 and I'd show more decided not to read it, so it was one of those that I approached with trepidation when it made this year's book discussion list. And sure enough, young Cheryl annoyed me. She was impulsive and reckless and self-destructive and I would have disliked her so much if we were in our twenties at the same time. Even so, her story of the hike and how she grew past that era of her life intrigued me. She gives you a very honest portrayal of her faults and, as good memoirs do, a window into her life at that time. I'm glad I read it. show less
This book was a best seller when in came out in 2012 and I'd show more decided not to read it, so it was one of those that I approached with trepidation when it made this year's book discussion list. And sure enough, young Cheryl annoyed me. She was impulsive and reckless and self-destructive and I would have disliked her so much if we were in our twenties at the same time. Even so, her story of the hike and how she grew past that era of her life intrigued me. She gives you a very honest portrayal of her faults and, as good memoirs do, a window into her life at that time. I'm glad I read it. show less
Because I've had to grapple with my fair share of nature/nurture shortcomings (i.e. bipolar & anxiety disorders, along with parents who didn't have a f*cking clue about adulting, for starters), I've had various forms of counselling & therapy & advice given to me from childhood onward by well meaning friends and professionals with various degrees of talent, proficiency and levels of empathy.
As I'm now approaching my 5th decade and have been more even-keeled than ever in the last decade or so show more because of many consistent efforts made by me and various health professionals as well as a regular meditation practice, I consider myself rather well versed as far as seeking mental health and well-being. I'd say Cheryl Strayed ranks right up there with the very best of them as far as giving advice to those seeking perspective in their life on love and life situations such as cheating partners; losing dear ones; overcoming student debt; dealing with grief; whether one should stay or leave a relationship, and countless other situations her readers have written to her in her anonymous online forum where she was only known to them as "Dear Sugar".
Her qualifications come mostly by way of having gone through more than her own fair share of hardships, and having processed those with loads of humanity and empathy, a very good brain, and also plenty of good judgment, acquired by way of having made plenty of bad decisions and correcting her own course along the way. This journey seems to have made her more qualified that at least 50% of diploma-holding social workers, shrinks and therapists I've personally encountered in my life (there were many, many, many as I was a very troubled kid & young adult), as far as not being a judgmental a-hole, being an excellent writer, and giving advice that is actually worth listening to.
Who do I recommend this book to? Basically, anyone who's ever asked themselves if they were doing things right in their life as far as being a decent lover, daughter or son, parent, grandparent, friend or human being. Or anyone who's ever asked themselves wtf, wtf, wtf, wtf??? over and over again at any point in their life and hasn't found satisfactory answers to what is pretty much as open-ended a question as you can get. She's actually got an answer to that question, though be warned it's pretty hardcore! Be prepared for a good dose of healing, sobering, and sometimes harsh truths, but always delivered with love. show less
As I'm now approaching my 5th decade and have been more even-keeled than ever in the last decade or so show more because of many consistent efforts made by me and various health professionals as well as a regular meditation practice, I consider myself rather well versed as far as seeking mental health and well-being. I'd say Cheryl Strayed ranks right up there with the very best of them as far as giving advice to those seeking perspective in their life on love and life situations such as cheating partners; losing dear ones; overcoming student debt; dealing with grief; whether one should stay or leave a relationship, and countless other situations her readers have written to her in her anonymous online forum where she was only known to them as "Dear Sugar".
Her qualifications come mostly by way of having gone through more than her own fair share of hardships, and having processed those with loads of humanity and empathy, a very good brain, and also plenty of good judgment, acquired by way of having made plenty of bad decisions and correcting her own course along the way. This journey seems to have made her more qualified that at least 50% of diploma-holding social workers, shrinks and therapists I've personally encountered in my life (there were many, many, many as I was a very troubled kid & young adult), as far as not being a judgmental a-hole, being an excellent writer, and giving advice that is actually worth listening to.
Who do I recommend this book to? Basically, anyone who's ever asked themselves if they were doing things right in their life as far as being a decent lover, daughter or son, parent, grandparent, friend or human being. Or anyone who's ever asked themselves wtf, wtf, wtf, wtf??? over and over again at any point in their life and hasn't found satisfactory answers to what is pretty much as open-ended a question as you can get. She's actually got an answer to that question, though be warned it's pretty hardcore! Be prepared for a good dose of healing, sobering, and sometimes harsh truths, but always delivered with love. show less
What an incredible book full of wisdom and pathos and heartbreak and laughter and tears. Sugar is my kind of people. The letter "The Future Has an Ancient Heart" has got to be my favorite moment, since, as an English major, I've had to fight to explain and justify my choice to a major and career that was more ideal than reality, more motivation than money. And this passage slayed me and broke me and lifted me up utterly: that when people ask me why I got my degree, I could respond, "Carry it show more with me, as I do everything that matters." Yes, this. show less
In early 1996, Cheryl Strayed was adrift. She was twenty-six, and still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, a few years earlier. She was in a shaky marriage, experimenting with hard drugs and sleeping around. Something needed to give.
Enter the PCT: The Pacific Crest Trail. Spotting this in a travel guide, while living in Minnesota, Cheryl decides this is her crossroads, her sea change moment and armed with “Monster” her hellishly large backpack, sets out on an eleven-hundred show more mile hike, from the Mojave desert to Washington State. She was a complete novice and had only done the occasional day hike.
This is simply a wonderful memoir, full of adventure and self-enlightenment. She is one scrappy young lady and I found myself slack-jawed at her toughness and tenacity. This is the perfect female companion to [A Walk in the Woods], although this has the grittier edge.
She tells this story in a strong vivid voice and I felt like I was walking alongside her, from the comfort of my favorite chair. Highly recommended. show less
Enter the PCT: The Pacific Crest Trail. Spotting this in a travel guide, while living in Minnesota, Cheryl decides this is her crossroads, her sea change moment and armed with “Monster” her hellishly large backpack, sets out on an eleven-hundred show more mile hike, from the Mojave desert to Washington State. She was a complete novice and had only done the occasional day hike.
This is simply a wonderful memoir, full of adventure and self-enlightenment. She is one scrappy young lady and I found myself slack-jawed at her toughness and tenacity. This is the perfect female companion to [A Walk in the Woods], although this has the grittier edge.
She tells this story in a strong vivid voice and I felt like I was walking alongside her, from the comfort of my favorite chair. Highly recommended. show less
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- 15
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- Rating
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