[December 2013]
***********
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on life
and love from Dear Sugar, Cheryl
Strayed
host: Christina
number of voters: 8
percentage of voters who
finished the book: 88
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 4
average rating: 6.75
menu: “dear sugar” cookies;
“honey buns”; “sweet pea” bites; black bean & “pumpkin” empanadas;
sparkling “peach” punch
*****
Dear Sugar,
I’ve been reading your book lately. I
don’t mean to make you blush when I say that it is full of profound and piercing
advice, written with stunning beauty and candor. Sometimes I will send the kids
to their rooms, turn down the lights, curl up on the couch (under a blanket, in
a fetal position), and read until I have exhausted myself with tears, laughter,
empathy, and self-reflection. This usually occurs after only a few pages. At
that point I have to put the book down and allow myself time to recover. Then I
get up and go about my day, wanting to tell anyone and everyone to read your
book.
And yet…
I know not everyone will appreciate your
book. I know there are people—people I admire, people I love—who will be repelled
by the harshness of your tone, your choice of words, and sometimes even the
advice you give. Some will find your use of colorful language… ahem… a bit
much. (A few of your word choices could make even a salty sailor blush.) Others
will disagree with your moral code. I imagine many will not find it as insanely
beautiful as I do. Maybe some will loathe it.
What do I do? How can I freely reveal to
friends my passion for your book, knowing that my enthusiasm could be met with
resistance, indifference, or possibly even disdain? What if I offer my fragile heart
and it is shattered? Wouldn’t it be easier to stay on the couch (under that
blanket, still in that fetal position) and keep reading, all alone?
Signed,
Introspective Reader
Dear Introspective
Reader,
“That your friends
have those opinions...does not mean that they don’t love you or value
as a friend.”
“We are obligated
to the people we care about and who we allow to care about us….. Our main obligation
is to be forthright.”
“You don’t have a right to the cards you
believe you should have been dealt…. You have an obligation to play the hell
out of the ones you’re holding and, my dear one, you and I have been granted a
mighty generous one.”
“Isn’t this cool? It really is, pumpkin.”
“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.”
“You will learn a lot
about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of
kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. Be a warrior for love.”
Yours,
Sugar
p.s. “The best thing
you can possibly do with your life is to tackle the mother-f***ing s*** out of
it.”
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