Tiny Beautiful Things

Entertaining and quite lovely book from the famous online columnist Cheryl Strayed.

Collecting various answers to letters from readers over the years, the book presents a wide range of issues, problems, doubts and questions. All of which are replyed to by Strayed who through a difficult life of her own has seemingly attained a great sense of humanity and wisdom.

As some of the essays in here really struck a chord with me I’ll be putting it together with The Meditations and Letters to a Stoic. In that way I’ll occasionally pick it up, read from it, and meditate on the contents.

Extracts

1. It’s going to be difficult, but that’s no surprise. The story of human intimacy is one of constantly allowing ourselves to see those we love most deeply in a new, more fractured light. Look hard. Risk that.

   p. 63

2. Get comfortable being the man who says Oh honey, I’m so sorry for your loss over and over again.

   On repeatedly consoling others without being able to do anything else for them p. 98

3. Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, liife has little meaning. It’s the best thing we have to givve and the most valuable thing we receive. It’s worthy of all the hullabaloo.

   p. 219

4. The narratives we create in order to justify our actions and choices becomes in so many ways who we are. They are the things we say back to ourselves to explain our complicated lives.

   p. 272