Cheryl Strayed Talks Wild, Sugar

"What had I gotten myself into?"

UPDATE: There's a great new podcasted interview of Cheryl Strayed by Diane Rehm for her WAMU Show. Topics include a lotta Wild and a dash of Sugar. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Links: a perishable iTunes podcast of Cheryl Strayed on the Diane Rehm Show or clickable audio on the WAMU site (the WAMU site audio should be available longer than the podcast.)
You can also get strong hit of Strayed openness along with some writing advice in this Days of Yore print interview of Cheryl Strayed by H. Henderson and Kassi Underwood (not a podcast).


Pre-Wild Publication Interview
This interview with Cheryl Strayed on Brad Listi's Other People Podcast from February 2012 is a great teaser for Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Strayed's forthcoming memoir about her bereft 1,100-mile hike with only a backpack nicknamed "Monster" to keep her company. The podcast (iTunes link) will expose you to enough about Wild to help you decide whether or not you want to read it, but it will not spoil it for you. (If you want to see a preview in print, here's an excerpt of Wild via Vogue--talk about footwear disconnect.) In the podcast Strayed and Listi also talk a bit about Strayed's previously anonymous role as the truth-talkin'-mama behind the "Dear Sugar" advice column for The Rumpus, and how after Strayed came out as "Sugar" on Valentine's Day she received 6,000 emails. Yowza. Whether she's sharing her grieving process or dishing out free life advice, Strayed manages to make openness embracing and sympathy unsimpery.