Cheryl Strayed could write about coffee coasters and I'd read it. I enjoyed all her previous books and this little short story was very well written as always. I wouldn't buy the physical copy of it, but if you are a completionist with an e-reader, this might be a good addition for your Cheryl Strayed collection.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley. Reading this short story reminded my own situation of taking care of my parents now that they are getting older. The story is packed with emotion, inspiring and pulled at my heart strings. This was not the first book I read by this author and definitely wont be the last.

I have read and enjoyed other books by Cheryl Strayed. Tiny Beautiful Things is one of my favorite books. I saw this was a short memoir and decided to pick it up as a palette cleanser.

I always admire how much empathy Cheryl shows even in the most difficult of scenarios. This walks through Cheryl's difficult relationship with her mother-in-law and how they got closer through the mother-in-law's end of life. It discusses from beginning to end how their relationship changed. It really wasn't until the end that they let their walls come down.

I enjoyed this brief story. I do think it was too much to try and cram into a short story.

This was just ok for me
I did find the grieving process to be heartbreaking
especially when your loved one is fading before your eyes
It was touching, and that stuck with me
Even with that, I did not feel emotionally connected
maybe because it was such a personal story
I don't know how to feel about Joan
Nothing horrible was said about her, but she also wasn't painted in the best light
Anyways
it was a short little nugget of a story
that will probably make you think of those you love and your own mortality.

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!