Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed is an American writer whose memoir Wild recounts a solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. She also wrote the Dear Sugar advice column and the essay collection Tiny Beautiful Things.

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Wild (memoir): Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after personal losses and upheaval. This memoir brought her story of grief and a long-distance hike to a wide audience.
Reese Witherspoon: An American actor and producer who founded the production company Hello Sunshine. Witherspoon starred in and produced the film adaptation of Wild.
Minnesota: A state in the Midwestern United States where Cheryl Strayed grew up. Strayed’s childhood and early family life unfolded in Minnesota.
Sugar (Cheryl Strayed): The pseudonymous advice columnist Cheryl Strayed created for the online column Dear Sugar. The Sugar persona let Strayed answer readers’ dilemmas through directness and personal disclosure.
Dear Sugar: An online advice column written by Cheryl Strayed under the pseudonym Sugar. The column established her intimate, candid voice beyond autobiographical writing.
Wild (film): A 2014 film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Reese Witherspoon. The film translated Strayed’s account of her hike into a major screen adaptation.
Syracuse University: A private research university in Syracuse, New York, with a creative writing program. Strayed studied writing at Syracuse and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.
The Rumpus: An online literary magazine founded by Stephen Elliott in 2009. The Rumpus published Dear Sugar, helping the column find its audience.
Tiny Beautiful Things: A 2012 collection of advice essays drawn from Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar column. The collection gathers the column’s advice and personal storytelling in book form.
Dear Sugar Radio: A podcast hosted by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond, adapted from the Dear Sugar advice project. The podcast extended Sugar’s candid advice conversations into audio.