So we found out that Sugar is Cheryl Strayed, and as Erica recounts, I knew this in an instant awhile back when I read one of her (incredible, I might add) Cheryl Strayed essays, sitting in a cafe reading on my phone a bit that Erica had excerpted on her blog, assuming as I read, before I got to the attribution part of the Tumblr quote post, that I was reading a Sugar column. Then I saw the name: “Cheryl Strayed.” Then I fiercely googled. Then I emailed Erica. Then I DMed Stephen Elliott and he told me, “Sshhh.” Then I started doing little weekly dances in the kitchen asking Dustin if they had the galley of her book in at McNally yet and finally they did and I read it over Thanksgiving and fell so in love with it. I got to the great good reader place I haven’t been back to since. You know it when you find it. I wrote this in Tumblr back around Thanksgiving then decided it would be weird to publish before her book was out but now it will be out so soon and we can all get excited! So here is my little burst of enthusiasm that has been sitting in my drafts for months:
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I finally got this book in my hands Tuesday night — the night before my mom and sister got here to stay with us for Thanksgiving. Two days before we made dinner for my family and his family and my sister’s funny little dog.
The first night I read it I cried. “But you cry over everything,” maybe you’re saying. No. I mean CRIED. Audible crying! Dustin apologized for getting me this book, this book I begged for him to get me a copy of the galley of for weeks (Cheryl Strayed tweeted about the galleys being out so they are probably out can you get one do you have any etc etc).
Every night since Tuesday I stayed up after my family went to bed in the other “room” (semi-subdivided area of our railroad apartment), exhausted, but reading any of this I could and telling my mom all about it in the morning.
My family left at 5 this morning. We saw them off then went back to sleep, woke up at 11, and I stayed in bed until 3 in the afternoon and finished it.
This will be big! I think you aren’t supposed to blog about books or review them or what have you until they’re out. This makes sense. What use is my recommendation now? If I said something bad, the book is not out there to defend itself. But I am not saying anything bad! I am not a bookseller or a book reviewer! I am the girlfriend of the bookseller. Do not tell the sales rep who left a little note on the cover: “Give this to Sam or Dustin.”
Sorry Sam! Sorry everyone! I got the ARC and I am powerless. I did not deserve it. I am not going to review this book. That is not my job and also I love it too much to do anything but cheer for it. I will just say, over and over, IT IS SO GOOD AND I BASICALLY READ IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. It is a book you read and want to push onto other people. I read a lot of books and I think that is the best feeling, of spending the rest of the day swimming in it and trying to choose just one person to heave it onto next, to place in their arms and hope they hug it to their chest.
I think I will give it to my mom for Christmas. I have a growing list of people I will demand to read it next.
