heyreadingpants's review against another edition

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I quit this book in, I think, the second or third letter response when Strayed is talking about her work with at-risk youth. She describes a thirteen year old girl as having already "fucked five men and blown ten" (approximate quote, as I was listening on audio). There's judgement dripping from her description.

Ms. Strayed, that is RAPE. That thirteen year old does not have a 33-year-old lover, as you wrote. She is being RAPED.

The way Cheryl described this situation was ugly and awful. She talked about these at risk youth getting jobs at Taco Bell as a stretch goal. Ma'am, please never work with at risk kids again.

Was it just one essay? Sure. But it was not something I could just ignore and carry on.

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clittleford3's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective

2.5

One thing is certain: Cheryl Strayed can write! 

While I didn’t always agree with the advice and some of the topics were not ones I wanted to hear, she did an excellent job of making each response a story and drawing you in to her tale. Much of her advice is anecdotal. The style sitting somewhere between Jenny Lawson & Brenè Btown. 

There is quite a bit of sex and sexuality related content and many four letter words that start with F.

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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Love love love this book. It’s cliche, but it really did make me both laugh and cry. This memoir came to me at exactly the right time and place in my life. I only ever hold on to books I rate five stars, and this one has earned its place. Sugar/Cheryl kindly, lovingly, and patiently gives advice, which stems from stories from her own personal life. She is as vulnerable with her readers as her readers are with her. It feels like I’m reading a conversation between two friends.

There are two quotes towards the end of the memoir that I feel capture the essence of the advice Sugar/Cheryl gives:

“It was a becoming that I would not have dreamed was mine” (323)

“Your life will be a great and continous unfolding” (351).

I highly recommend this book. And if you like this one, then you will also love How to be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky/Ask Polly.

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amkleintje's review against another edition

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stefanies_books's review against another edition

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DNFed at 46% 
I think as individual columns this works but as a collection it felt condescending and repetitive. If I could have read one chapter a week (instead of a library loan) it might have been a better experience but I’ll also be fine not finishing this one. IMO this is blog content that should stay that way rather than published in a book format 

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nuuamuikkunen's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.25


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readbyroska's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

Read it if any of the following applies to you, and you can’t find your peace:

you’re feeling lost, hopeless, not good enough, deserving but unlucky, regretful, guilty, ashamed, disempowered, confused, heartbroken, lonely, isolated, alone, misunderstood, underachieving. 

Read if you are a partner, wife, husband, mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend, daughter, son, child, friend, fuck buddy, teacher, student.

Read it if you don’t have anyone in your life who can love you and know you but still tell it to your straight. 

You will find something here for you, so sift through and find it.

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koplomps's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

3.5


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tinyy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

I think I desperately needed to hear this:
”There is nothing more boring and fruitless than a woman lamenting the fact that her stomach is round.”

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bookmarkedtbr's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0


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