Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed is a compilation of letters and responses from the immensely popular Dear Sugar online advice column that Cheryl anonymously wrote for two years. The interest in the column and the fascination in its advisor grew steadily because of Cheryl’s ability to relate to the Dear Sugar community by sharing her own personal stories in her raw, unabridged, and unfiltered style.  This honest, open, and radically unique approach made Dear Sugar different from others. There is no judgement in Sugar’s responses, no sense that Sugar is better than the one seeking advice. Instead through Sugar’s (Cheryl’s) retelling of some of her own (often difficult) encounters she relates to the writer and gives them more than just advice, she shows them empathy.

The care that Sugar (Cheryl) takes to respond to her writers, often mulling over letters for weeks, is clear. She cares for the people who take the time to write to her and it shows in the thoroughness of her responses and in the way she affectionately calls them ‘sweet pea.’ If you wonder why Sugar (Cheryl) cares, you need to look no further than the preface in the tenth anniversary addition where Cheryl writes: “I’ve long believed that literature’s greatest superpower is how it makes us feel less alone. The only thing I ever hope to do as a writer is to make people feel less alone, to make them feel more human.” Through Dear Sugar and Tiny Beautiful Things, Cheryl accomplishes this perfectly.

If you wish to order a copy of Tiny Beautiful Things (also a Reese’s book club pick for November 2022) click here. I am a bookshop.org affiliate and may earn a small % which of course will then spend on more books.