Tiny Beautiful Things

I recently made a decision to read more books. Inspired by great blogs such as Farnam Street and Ribbon Farm, I decided to conciously prioritize reading. To that extent, I ordered half a dozen books from Amazon on a myriad of subjects. One of the first books I began to read is this one.

This book is a collection of letters from the Dear Sugar advice column on a website called therumpus.net. People write to Sugar seeking answers and Sugar helps them see an outsider’s perspective. This book is roughly 350 pages of easy reading, but the words, emotions and experiences are anything but that. Easy.

The letters that people write are sometimes funny, sometimes innocent and sometimes simply gut-wrenching and bone chilling. How do you console a grieving mother who has just lost her infant child? How do you talk someone into severing ties with an abusive father? People write to sugar from such dark places that might simply make your stomach churn. You would sooner want to be stranded on a deserted island than have to deal with such circumstances and experiences. People who write to Sugar are trying to find the light in their lives that they sometimes believe has gone out permanently. In turn, Sugar recounts several incidents from her own life to draw parallels and give strength and courage to her readers. She talks about her mother’s death. She talks about her relationship with her distant father. Sugar drives home the point that love, family, friendships, and life are not supposed to be perfect. They are not oases of happiness that will always stay green and calm. But life is still beautiful in all it’s dark and magnificent glory. She affirms her readers that everyone is capable of recieving and giving all the love and sweet sugar in their lives.

I would recommend keeping a copy of this book around for the days when one is searching for reasons and justifications for the things that happen, happen. I know I will!