After discovering that her mother-in-law is dying, Strayed and her husband move her into an assisted living home and prepare to say goodbye. It's clear that while they didn't have the easiest of relationships, the two women had affection for one a other and appreciated the other. Family relationships are often difficult and fraught with family history and drama, and Strayed managed to illustrate this perfectly with just a couple of family anecdotes. But this short story is also laced with love and compassion, and a complicated grief. It's beautifully told, without falling into the trap of being overly emotional, which is not an easy line to walk. All in all this is a lovely exploration of family and grief.

A very sweet and sad story from CS Anout her relationship with her mother in law. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Complicated relationships, with ourselves and others, histories that won't stay buried and are complicated by the present, taking that final journey; this short story had it ALL. Bravo Cheryl Strayed.

This was a beautifully honest reflection of the relationship between the author and her mother in law. I loved reading this with the context of having read Wild. The essay examines end of life care, the complexity of in-law relationships and how we care for those who sometimes hold themselves at a distance.

This was really a longer essay, rather than a book. It was a brief summary of her experience of processing her mother-in-law's end of life care and death, while looking back at their relationship they'd built. I have read other works of Strayed's and this was not my favorite of hers. I saw her heart and warmth in it, but also felt jarred by the occasional harshness. Overall, I enjoyed the investigation of her own complex family dynamics.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

This is not a book so much as it is an essay or chapter. Well-known author Strayed tells the tale of saying goodbye to her mother-in-law as her illness declines in hospice care. It's the kind of tale she tells best, of family and the complicated relationships that lie there. I read this quickly and ended with tears from her beautiful words.

A 31-page snapshot of Strayed's complex relationship with her mother-in-law, a woman she very much wanted to be close to—but their relationship was never quite what she had hoped for or dreamed of. At a key moment in their history together, Strayed reflects back on the ill-fated moment they first met in a bar, before they were officially connected by marriage.

I love how this essay explores a relationship that doesn’t typically get much attention - that between mother and daughter-in-law. The story takes readers along with on the dying journey and an excavation and examination of a life lived. 3.5 stars.

Cheryl Strayed has another winner with her latest book. Two Women Walk Into a Bar is a short but touching memoir about her strained relationship with her mother-in-law. Beautifully written. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

An honest, beautiful, brutal examination of the complex relationship between grief, love, death, and life. The frankness with which Cheryl discusses her strained relationship with her mother-in-law is equal to the frankness with which she discusses the love they shared. This was a short but impactful read.

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Always love Cheryl Strayed and her writing style, and this was no different. Beautiful story, well told.

I love Cheryl Strayed's writing and the stories she tells. This story moved me - Cheryl describes when she first met her future mother-in-law and their emotionally fraught relationship until her mother-in-law enters hospice. Grateful to NetGalley for the chance to read this (on a plane, crying).

This was a touching short essay by the author of WILD. It’s a reflection on her complicated relationship with her mother-in-law in the face of her terminal illness and move to hospice care. Movingly written, I’m unashamed to admit I was crying by the end.

Pub Date: 1/1/24
Review Published: 1/17/24
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️
A sweet, short story about Cheryl's relationship with her mother in law from first impressions to a bittersweet end following a cancer diagnosis.

Life's shorter than we know. I think we all need more reminders to say and do the things before we can't.

Thanks, @netgalley, for a copy of this sweet novella! It's out now!

A touching short memoir about the author’s relationship with her mother in law Joan.

Joan and Cheryl had nothing in common - complete opposites. As the years pass, they simply tolerate each other. Eventually, Joan is placed in an assisted living facility, together with hospice care. That’s when the true meaning of their relationship is revealed. A lovely memoir.

This book tugged on the heart strings, it showed relationships between in-laws and also family tragedy. It was lovely to read and was nice to discover the background of the characters. Short and poignant story i felt , nice quick and easy read!

This was really beautiful.

No two experiences of losing a parent are the same, but there’s a common thread that runs through each one: coming to terms with what they did and didn’t do, or could and couldn’t do for you. What to let go and what to keep.

This was an eloquent picture of one of the most painful things we can experience. After losing my dad six months ago, this really hit home.

Cheryl Strayed is one of those authors, like Frederik Backman, who can see through to the core of humanity. In this short autobiographical story, she grapples with the death of her mother-in-law, a figure in her life for many years who was both ally and antagonist.

In Strayed's writing, we can all see pieces of ourselves and our relationships viewed with an honest and forgiving lens. I will read everything she writes, but I am hoping that the next project is a full-length book.

I liked the honesty and how eye-opening this story is. This short story is about Strayed’s relationship with her mother-in-law Joan, as Joan is on the verge of death. Even though the two don't always see eye to eye, Strayed finds solitude in what is important for Joan and her son. No one wants to leave things unresolved but sometimes just letting go and showing up is what is best.

Cheryl Strayed’s mother-in-law, Joan, is dying. As Cheryl and her husband, Brian, help Joan handle this final phase with comfort and dignity, Cheryl reflects on her relationship with Joan over the years. Brian is an only child, the light of Joan’s life, so it almost goes without saying that Cheryl always had her work cut out for her. While the word “love” may have been too strong, over the years, the women develop a closeness of sorts. As she struggles to say goodbye, Cheryl reflects on their time together, the regrets, as well as moments of bonding and closeness.

I am not alone when I say I love Cheryl Strayed. Of course I do. If you didn’t love Wild, who are you? I need to know because I finished that book with tears streaming down my face, completely enamored. Tiny Beautiful Things shares my nightstand with the Practical Magic series and Evelyn Hugo. I love Cheryl Strayed. But….I’m not sure I loved this novella. Why? After some thought, it’s probably just that it wasn’t quite enough Cheryl for me. As always, it was beautiful and eloquent. She said what she wanted to say and then knew when it was time to stop (something I’ll probably never learn). While it left me wanting more, maybe that was the point. Sometimes there’s nothing left to say, even when we want there to be.

Thanks to Cheryl Strayed, Amazon Original Stories and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.