Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

If there was a list of books that changed my life (for the better), this would have a permanent spot at the very top.

I first read this almost four years ago and yet I keep coming back to it. There’s a wide range of topics covered in Sugar’s letters, and some can be very difficult to read, but they thread together beautifully throughout this collection.

I decided I was going to read Wild, but somehow ended up reading this one instead. Strayed penned this advice column for a while, just bc she's a writer and couldn't say no to a writing gig, even one that didn't pay, but she doles out a surprising amount of wisdom and lots of love and understanding to those seeking her help, scattered with snapshots into her upbringing and history. The last letter where she shared the things she wished she'd said to her mom before she died was just completely heartbreaking.
Some people have said they didn't like Wild or couldn't get through it bc they didn't like HER. I'll have to see if she comes off as a different person in that book, but here she is most decidedly HUMAN, and a smart and caring one at that.

Reading this feels like sitting on a porch on a Sunday afternoon, lounging and sipping on sweet iced tea while your older sister speaks her piece bluntly, with empathy that we are all still figuring things out as we go, and necessary tough love we all need in our life.