As part of my 43 Before 43 I’m reading 43 Books.

Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of Dear Sugar columns from The Rumpus. I checked this book out from my library’s e-reader collection because so many people have raved about the author’s (Cheryl Strayed) other book, Wild, that I decided I’d read this while I waited for Wild to become available.

Until I read this book I didn’t even know Sugar existed. I’m hoping I’m the only one! If you’ve never read Dear Sugar, stop what you are doing and go check it out.

Why you may be asking yourself, am I advocating you spend time reading an advice column? In a word, kindness. Sugar answers every single letter she gets with kindness. And a whole heart and no BS. In my opinion tender-hearted kindness is in short supply these days of reality TV marathons and competitiveness for competitiveness sake.

I spent most of the time reading Tiny Beautiful Things with tears streaming down my cheeks because I could feel Sugar’s empathy and compassion coming through her writing. I felt like she really cared about the letter writers and their problems.

It also probably helps that the problems people write to Sugar about are universal – love, lust, loss – and either me or someone I love has been in the midst of suffering like that and the answers Sugar gives and nothing short of tender reminders that we’re all in it together.

Do I recommend this book? Without a doubt.

Would I want to be friends with author? Yes. She seems like she’s been through a whole lot of life and come out the other side.

Have you read Tiny Beautiful Things or the Dear Sugar column? What did you think?