This short story examines the relationship between Cheryl Strayed and her mother-in-law who has only weeks to live. She gains more insight into Joan's life which leads to a new understanding. This was an interesting and tender quick read. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC!

Heartwarming story about the relationship between author and her mother-in-law. Some of the things her mother-in-law says to her, makes me giggle and made me think of things my own mother would have said . Nice touching short story !

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Series for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve loved Cheryl Strayed since Tiny Beautiful Things became one of my favorite reads last year. This was very quick read demonstrating Cheryl’s relationship with her mother in law when they first met and through her passing. Cheryl’s relationship with her mother in law was difficult in the beginning and progressed to a level of tolerance and respect for one another in passing years. Overall a good read and demonstration on relationships and how they develop and reveal at end of life.

This is a poignant novella of the author's own story of her mother in law, along with her dealing with her end of life. As the author describes how they first met to their last goodbye, along with the endless love between a mother and her son. A powerful short story.

A beautiful, non traditional mother/daughter memoir. Short and sweet with stunning writing. A lovely and honest portrait of a complicated woman, loved for who she was.

Simple, touching and thought provoking. Strayed is such a seasoned writer and she flawlessly turned a simple encounter with her mother-in-law into a story with universal impact and understanding. Short stories are hard to execute, and Strayed did it!

A very tender short story about the author’s relationship with her mother-in-law. This is a short but impactful work of non fiction that will leave you reflecting on your own relationships. I found it to be very moving and read it in one sitting. Great work by Cheryl Strayed.

This is a short memoir by the author, Cheryl Strayed, chronicling her mother in laws end of life journey. When her mother in law, Joan, was given only weeks to live, Cheryl and her husband Brian move her into hospice care and help her prepare for her impending death. Cheryl’s relationship with Joan has been complicated and given the finality of the situation they are facing, she is hopeful for some healing before they have to say their final goodbye. Cheryl reflects on conversations and interactions over their 20+ years of knowing one another.

This was very short, coming in at only 31 pages on Kindle, but it was an honest and reflective story. I didn’t feel a deep level of emotion coming from the author, but it was still touching in its own way. I am thankful I got to read the story, as it has some personal meaning to a similar situation I am facing with a loved one.

Thank you to NetGalley + Amazon Original Stories for the ARC. The pub date was 01/01/2024.

“It had been more than twenty years since she’d walked into that bar and I’d picked her last. She’d been alive in my life for nearly as long as my mother had. She was my family, my ancestor, no matter our distance or difficulties or disappointments, the truth of that finally crackling between us. “Thank you,” she whispered with more force and clarity than I thought she had left. In three days, she’d take her last breath as Brian held her. “Thank you,” she said again, like she wanted me to remember it. And I did.

This was a short memoir but a lovely one. The relationship shown between the two women was just so real and raw. I love Cheryl’s writing and the heart felt in her stories.

This is a heartwarming yet sad story. Cheryl is describing her complicated relation ship between her and her mother in law. Well written. would recomend.

This was a beautifully written first hand account of the author's relationship with her mother-in-law, particularly at the end of life stage. This was a very short memoir, but very powerful. In under an hour, I was able to get this very personal glimpse at Cheryl's relationship with her MIL and with the process of saying goodbye. So many years of family dynamics, emotions, and behaviors were packed in to this very short story, providing the reader a very real view on their relationship. Having recently experienced the loss of a parent myself, I appreciated Cheryl's openness and honesty and her own personal journey of loss. What a beautiful tribute to her mother-in-law, who will now live on forever in the memory of all who read this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an e-arc of this book.

Cheryl Strayed always has a way of getting me.

I feel like I can always relate to her stories even though my life experiences are so different.

Grief is always the undertone of her stories and what makes them so human.

I liked that this was a short story but a beautiful one.

I enjoyed reading this short story, which is a memoir. The way it's written made me feel all the emotions.

A memoir with honesty and raw emotions . Cheryl Strayed shares a heartfelt short story of her relationship through the years with her now terminally ill mother in law Joan. As Cheryl and her husband navigate Joan’s end of life , she reflects on their somewhat difficult relationship. I think this is a story many can relate to. Beautifully written!

A beautiful, touching, short memoir I was so grateful to have the pleasure of reading. Thank you for the e-arc!

I really appreciated Cheryl Strayed's vulnerability in discussing her not so perfect relationship with her mother in law. I love her writing!

The complicated feelings of love and grief dominate this short memoir by Cheryl Strayed. Having also read "Wild" did help bring some background to this story, but I don't think it's necessary to still get the full impact. I found this essay extremely relatable as someone who is also dealing with fresh grief. The complicated nature of family relationships is something we can all empathize with, and Strayed manages to pack an emotional wallop in this short work. I really appreciate that she doesn't shy away from admitting that her relationship with her mother-in-law wasn't always great, but that they both came around to loving each other. I would highly recommend this quick read.

I enjoyed this short piece about the author’s relationship with her mother-in-law, reflected on as the latter is dying. It seems to be a realistic depiction of a relationship that hasn’t always been easy but in which both parties have reached a state of mutual appreciation. I wouldn’t want to read about how wonderful and flawless the older woman was if that was not the case and I think the author achieved the correct tone here of showing her mother-in-law’s shortcomings alongside her best qualities without being critical.
If I have any criticism, it’s that this was very short and over quickly, almost before I felt I was really into the story. Perhaps I would have appreciated it more as part of a collection on a similar theme, giving me more time to reflect on the content.
This is my first experience with Cheryl Strayed, although I’m quite sure Wild is waiting on my Kindle, so this serves as a reminder to get to it.
Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a fun little story about something that we all have to face eventually – death.

But it is so much more than that. It is a story of relationships, love and understand. All revolving around the most feared person since the days of Bedrock: The Mother-in-Law.

I enjoyed how Strayed was able to create a few chuckles and see parallels in my own relationship all while exposing her own experience at what must have been a difficult time.

Job well done.

5 Stars

Two Women Walk Into a Bar is such a short story, packed with so much emotion. I was moved to tears by the story of the end one's life, because it was so true to what I've experienced.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.