May 14, 2012 – Strayed (Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail), in this collection of advice (some previously unpublished) for readers of her column Dear Sugar on therumpus.net, chooses thought-provoking questions from her readers and listens deeply to their emotional content. In casually intimate prose (to a struggling writer: dear sweet arrogant beautiful crazy tortured talented rising star glowbug ) and literary grace, she creates moments of wise, compassionate insight in often startlingly personal miniature memoirs, cradling gentle but practical guidance with enough humor to cement Strayed s presence as both a mentor and the most understanding of friends. Sugar can be tough and honest (to the same struggling writer: buried beneath all the anxiety and sorrow and fear and self-loathing , there s arrogance at its core ), but she s never mean: in Sugar s world, we all deserve love unconditionally, but also owe it to ourselves to act in the world to be the best, most authentic selves that we can be. For a regrounding in the beauty of what it means to be flawed and gorgeously human, for answers that feel real whether we ve been able to ask the right question, Strayed s caring little essays offer surprisingly rich comfort.

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