Cheryl Strayed

Born in Pennsylvania and raised largely in a house without plumbing or electricity in rural Minnesota, Cheryl Strayed’s love of nature and desire to conquer the wilderness dates back to her childhood and teen years. When her mother Bobbi died in 1991, during the 22-year-old Cheryl’s senior year of college, Cheryl’s life suffered a major blow. Her marriage dissolved as a result of her serial cheating and burgeoning addiction to heroin, leading her to adopt the surname “Strayed” as a reflection of her wandering from the once-traditional path of her life. Desperate to save herself, confront her shortcomings, and find a route to healing, Cheryl embarked on an 1,100-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, a journey that would become the basis for her critically-acclaimed 2012 memoir Wild. After hiking the PCT, Cheryl settled in Portland, Oregon, where she has lived ever since. The author of the novel Torch and the once-anonymous voice behind the popular Dear Sugar advice column, Cheryl Strayed is an inquisitive and empathetic writer and one of the literary community’s most steadfast members. Her collected advice letters, Tiny Beautiful Things, was adapted for the stage in 2016, and her memoir Wild is now a major motion picture directed by Jean-Mark Vallée and starring Reese Witherspoon.