Tiny Beautiful Things

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar is a book written by the American author Cheryl Strayed. Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of essays compiled from Strayed's "Dear Sugar" advice column, which she wrote anonymously, on The Rumpus, an online literary magazine.[1][2] The columns focus as much on her literary memoir as they do on advice and self-help.[3]

AuthorCheryl Strayed
LanguageEnglish
SubjectSelf-help
PublisherVintage Books
Published in English
July 10, 2012
Media typeprint, digital, audio
Pages368 (paperback)
ISBN978-0307949332

The book was published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House Publishing, on July 10, 2012, and debuted at No. 5 on the "New York Times Best Seller list" in the advice and self-help category.[4]

"Dear Sugar" column

The book is a collection of essays from "Dear Sugar," Strayed's advice column on The Rumpus. Strayed took over this column, under the pseudonym "Sugar," on March 11, 2010. It was created and previously written by her friend, Steve Almond.[5][6] She wrote for the column anonymously and without pay until the column ended in 2012, months before Tiny Beautiful Things was published.[7] As Sugar, Strayed responded to anonymous questions with searing honesty. She drew from her own life experiences in her letters and shared them in raw detail, both the good and the bad. She once said, "I’ve always written the column as if I were a naked woman standing in a field showing you everything but her face." In February, 2012, Strayed revealed her true identity as Sugar.[8][9][10][6]

Tiny Beautiful Things is a compilation of columns chosen by Strayed, including both her favorite and most popular essays. The book also includes essays that were never published on the website.[6]

Sugar in podcast

Strayed revived her Sugar persona in a podcast called "Dear Sugars," which she hosted alongside "Dear Sugar" creator, Steve Almond. It ran for four years, the final episode airing in September 2018.[11] The podcast was produced by The New York Times and WBUR, Boston's National Public Radio affiliate.[12]

In April, 2020, in response to an outpouring of requests from readers for her to revive her Sugar persona yet again, Strayed premiered her newest podcast, "Sugar Calling." In each episode of this podcast, Sugar asks questions in conversation with a different author over the age of 60.[13] This second podcast, recorded over Google Hangouts, is intended to provide relief during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Stage adaptation

The book was conceived as a play, Tiny Beautiful Things, by Nia Vardalos, Thomas Kail, and Marshall Heyman. The stage adaptation, written by Vardalos and directed by Kail, premiered at The Public Theater in December, 2016 to a sold-out run, starring Vardalos as Sugar.[14][15][16] Other members of this original cast include Phillip James Brannon, Alfredo Narciso, and Natalie Woolams-Torres.[17]

Vardalos reprised her performance at The Public in September, 2017 for an extended return engagement.[18]

Reception

Tiny Beautiful Things has been reviewed by journalists on staff at The Washington Post,[19] the New York Times Book Review,[20] the San Francisco Chronicle,[21] and The Huffington Post.[22]

References
  1. Gregory Cowles (2012-04-06). "Inside the List". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  2. Jeff Baker (2012-02-15). "Portland writer Cheryl Strayed reveals she is popular advice columnist 'Dear Sugar'". Oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  3. Holstrom, Ashley (2020-03-25). "Cheryl Strayed Giving Dear Sugar Advice This Friday". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  4. Gregory Cowles (2012-07-20). "Inside the List". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  5. "Podcast Playlist: 'Wild' Author Cheryl Strayed Launches New Show With New York Times". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  6. Errico, Sally. "Dear Sugar's True Identity". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  7. Stevens, Heidi. "Column: 'It's beautiful and terrifying.' Cheryl Strayed's 'Dear Sugar' columns come to life on a Chicago stage". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  8. Gibson, Allison K. (2012-07-30). "Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things: Wildly Popular Memoirist Talks to Us About Writing, and Dessert". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  9. Groskop, Viv (2013-04-28). "Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Someone Who's Been There by Cheryl Strayed – review". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  10. Holmes, Anna (2012-07-27). "Dear Sugar, I Could Really Use Your Help Here". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  11. "The Long Goodbye". The New York Times. 2018-09-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  12. Gachman, Dina. "A 'Dear Sugar' Podcast Is Here (and Now We Faint)". Bustle. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  13. Balsamo, Adriana (2020-04-15). "Have No Fear, Sugar Is Here (Again)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  14. Gans, Andrew (2017-10-03). "What Did Critics Think of Tiny Beautiful Things?". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  15. http://www.playbill.com/production/tiny-beautiful-things-public-theater-shiva-theater-2016-2017
  16. http://www.lortel.org/Archives/Production/6271
  17. Brantley, Ben (2016-12-31). "Review: Dear Audiences of 'Tiny Beautiful Things,' Prepare to Cry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  18. Gans, Andrew (2017-10-03). "What Did Critics Think of Tiny Beautiful Things?". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  19. Krug, Nora (2012-07-24). "New in paperback: 'Tiny Beautiful Things,' by Cheryl Strayed, as Dear Sugar - Washington Post". Articles.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  20. Anna Holmes (2012-07-27). "Dear Sugar, I Could Really Use Your Help Here". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  21. Liz Colville (2012-07-16). "'Tiny Beautiful Things,' by Cheryl Strayed". SFGate. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  22. "Ilana Teitelbaum: Tiny Beautiful Things: The Year I Was Shaken and Stirred With "Dear Sugar"". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2012-12-27.


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