Torch
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3.9 • 133 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The debut novel from the internationally acclaimed author of Wild weaves a searing and luminous tale of a family's grief after unexpected loss. • "A deeply honest novel of life after catastrophe, of intimacy lost and found." —O, The Oprah Magazine
"Work hard. Do good. Be incredible!" is the advice Teresa Rae Wood shares with the listeners of her local radio show, Modern Pioneers, and the advice she strives to live by every day. She has fled a bad marriage and rebuilta 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 received unexpected news that Teresa, 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Years before embarking on a 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed wrote her debut novel, laying the first stone on her path to master storyteller. This semi-autobiographical story delves into the same topics that power her breakthrough memoir, Wild—love and loss, life and death, grief and happiness–with a rawness that made our hearts melt. Teresa, a 38-year-old mother of two, receives a terminal cancer diagnosis. As she succumbs, her teenage kids and live-in boyfriend all unravel in their own ways, through impulsive sex, criminal rebellion, and a desperate rebound marriage. Strayed’s remarkable ability to depict layers of pain (and the messes it can cause) made us want to hug these characters one minute and shake some sense into them the next. Torch made us cry in more ways than one: sad tears for sure, but also happy tears from the knowledge that tragic loss can breed a new appreciation for life.
Customer Reviews
Torch
Thank You Cheryl for such a deeply moving, sad yet uplifting novel. I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading many more books from you!
Not a fan of this book
I have loved all of Cheryl Strayed’s non-fiction, and thought I would love this as well, but had to force myself to finish it—then wondered why I bothered. There was some fabulous imagery, especially at the start, and life in a very small town was well drawn, but by the end of the book, I just didn’t care, and the caring is what made Strayed’s non-fiction works so compelling and wise and memorable.
Torch
Second book I've read by Cheryl Strayed, both of them were amazing reads! I can't wait to read another one of her books.