Staying Fit
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Author Cheryl Strayed’s bestseller Wild, which chronicled her solo hike of the Pacific Crest Trail at age 26, was brought to life on the big screen in the 2014 movie of the same name. Now, you can watch an adaptation of the 54-year-old’s book Tiny Beautiful Things — based on her Dear Sugar advice column — streaming on Hulu.
How involved are you in the adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things?
I’m an executive producer and one of the writers. The show runner-creator is the wonderful Liz Tigelaar. She really taught me so much about television writing as we crafted this season. Kathryn Hahn is wonderful as the character Clare. She’s not me. She has her own middle-age problems that aren’t mine, but then her past — those times where she’s remembering — those are very autobiographical. … It’s always a thrill when something you’ve made inspires other artists to make something else, and then to get to be so involved in the process was absolutely just an education. I think of myself as the eternal apprentice, so for me to get to be in the writers room and to say, I’ve been a writer for decades now, but I’ve never written a TV show, and just to be somebody who is always learning new things, I can’t ask for more.
Strayed is an executive producer and writer for the new Hulu show “Tiny Beautiful Things."
Jessica Brooks/Hulu
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What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and who was it from?
Of course, my dear mother has influenced my life so deeply. She died when she was 45. So I’ve lived a long time without her, but her legacy lives on in me. … What she would say to me is, “Cheryl, there will always be hard days, there will always be difficult times, but you have the opportunity to put yourself in the way of beauty every day. And it’s up to you to find, essentially, the beauty and the joy in life.” She would say, “There’s always a sunset, there’s always a sunrise, and it’s up to you to be there for it.” Obviously, I thought about that on the Pacific Coast Trail, and in a larger sense of my work as Dear Sugar. That idea of putting yourself in the way of beauty is core to so much of the advice I give, because no matter what your problem is, your struggle or your loss, at the end of the day, you do have to find a way to find that lightness in the darkness, to find the courage, the strength to go forward, even if it hurts. It’s a kind of core optimism that my mother had that I absolutely know lives inside of me.
And the worst advice?
It’s funny, my mom gave me the best advice; my grandmother, who is dead now, my mother’s mother [gave me the worst]. When I was a teenager … she said, “Never, never be entirely naked in front of your husband. Always keep a shirt on.” Even then as a teenager, I thought, This is terrible advice. This does not make for a good marriage. It was not the marriage advice I would give.
Back in 2012, when Wild was picked as an Oprah Book Club selection, it clearly changed your life. Did Oprah give you any advice?
Oh, Oprah’s given me so much great advice. She’s a really good friend. We had really good conversations about a number of things when Wild was really successful — about stepping into that kind of fame, the public stage if you will. She’s given me advice on just everything. … I used to do a Dear Sugar podcast. Steve Almond, my cohost, and I had Oprah on the show. We expanded it into two episodes. She was so good. It’s all about how to say “no.” … As you know, Oprah has endured a lot of hard things. She had a traumatic childhood. She had a lot of stuff to live through, [but she says that] the hardest journey of her life was learning how to say “no.” I was just like, so many people are going to relate to that. I know what she’s talking about. That word is not a word that a lot of us come to easily.
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