Torch by Cheryl Strayed

I love this book. I immediately passed it on to others I know who would appreciate an honest in-depth look at grief and what it can do to a family. A heavy topic, I know. But wow. After reading Wild and loving it for the honesty and insight into human nature, determination and vulnerabilities, I knew that anything else she wrote would be well worth reading. Her characters and settings are just so real you can feel their presence.

In her debut novel, Torch, bestselling author Cheryl Strayed weaves a searing and luminous tale of a family's grief after unexpected loss. Theresa May Wood has fled a bad marriage and rebuilt a life with her children, Claire and Joshua, and their caring stepfather, Bruce. Their love for each other binds them as a family through the daily struggles of making ends meet. But when they receive unexpected news that Theresa, only 38, is dying of cancer, their lives all begin to unravel and drift apart. Strayed's intimate portraits of these fully human characters in a time of crisis show the varying truths of grief, forgiveness, and the beautiful terrors of learning how to keep living.