First edition cover
AuthorCheryl Strayed
LanguageEnglish
GenreSelf-help
PublisherVintage Books
Publication date
July 10, 2012
Media type
Pages368 (paperback)
ISBN978-0-3079-4933-2

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar is a self-help book by 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]

The book was published on July 10, 2012, by Vintage Books, a division of Random House Publishing, 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]

The play received its Canadian premiere in Kelowna, British Columbia, under the direction of Pete MacLeod for MadFox Theatre in February 2023. The production starred Michelle Deighton in the role of Sugar, with supporting performances from Casey Easton, Angela Schjodt, and Mikayla Jones. The run received critical acclaim and sold out all performances.[19]

Television adaptation

In June 2022, Hulu ordered a television series adaptation of the book, starring Kathryn Hahn.[20] The miniseries premiered on April 7, 2023.[21]

Reception

Tiny Beautiful Things has been reviewed by journalists on staff at The Washington Post,[22] the New York Times Book Review,[23] the San Francisco Chronicle,[24] and The Huffington Post.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Cowles, Gregory (April 6, 2012). "Inside the List". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  2. ↑ Jeff Baker (February 15, 2012). "Portland writer Cheryl Strayed reveals she is popular advice columnist 'Dear Sugar'". OregonLive.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  3. ↑ Holstrom, Ashley (March 25, 2020). "Cheryl Strayed Giving Dear Sugar Advice This Friday". Book Riot. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. ↑ Gregory Cowles (July 20, 2012). "Inside the List". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Podcast Playlist: 'Wild' Author Cheryl Strayed Launches New Show With New York Times". The Hollywood Reporter. April 3, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Errico, Sally. "Dear Sugar's True Identity". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. ↑ Stevens, Heidi. "Column: 'It's beautiful and terrifying.' Cheryl Strayed's 'Dear Sugar' columns come to life on a Chicago stage". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  8. ↑ Gibson, Allison K. (July 30, 2012). "Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things: Wildly Popular Memoirist Talks to Us About Writing, and Dessert". LA Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. ↑ Groskop, Viv (April 28, 2013). "Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Someone Who's Been There by Cheryl Strayed – review". The Observer. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  10. ↑ Holmes, Anna (July 27, 2012). "Dear Sugar, I Could Really Use Your Help Here". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Long Goodbye". The New York Times. September 1, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  12. ↑ Gachman, Dina. "A 'Dear Sugar' Podcast Is Here (and Now We Faint)". Bustle. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  13. ↑ Balsamo, Adriana (April 15, 2020). "Have No Fear, Sugar Is Here (Again)". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  14. ↑ Gans, Andrew (October 3, 2017). "What Did Critics Think of Tiny Beautiful Things?". Playbill. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Tiny Beautiful Things Off-Broadway @ Public Theater/Shiva Theater". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Productions Renting the Lucille Lortel Theatre EDIA Policy - Lucille Lortel Theatre". December 17, 2021.
  17. ↑ Brantley, Ben (December 31, 2016). "Review: Dear Audiences of 'Tiny Beautiful Things,' Prepare to Cry". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  18. ↑ Gans, Andrew (October 3, 2017). "What Did Critics Think of Tiny Beautiful Things?". Playbill. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things Arrives in Kelowna". MadFox Theatre. January 23, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ Rice, Lynette (June 6, 2022). "Hulu Orders 'Tiny Beautiful Things' to Series from Liz Tigelaar; Kathryn Hahn Stars". Deadline Hollywood.
  21. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (April 3, 2023). "'Tiny Beautiful Things' Cast and Creatives Toasted By Variety, ABC Signature and Hulu at Los Angeles Premiere". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  22. ↑ Krug, Nora (July 24, 2012). "New in paperback: 'Tiny Beautiful Things,' by Cheryl Strayed, as Dear Sugar". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  23. ↑ Anna Holmes (July 27, 2012). "Dear Sugar, I Could Really Use Your Help Here". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  24. ↑ Colville, Liz (July 16, 2012). "'Tiny Beautiful Things,' by Cheryl Strayed". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Ilana Teitelbaum: Tiny Beautiful Things: The Year I Was Shaken and Stirred With "Dear Sugar"". The Huffington Post. July 9, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
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