Grieving the death of her mother and a painful divorce, Cheryl Strayed found herself alone at the age of 26. Her life in pieces, she embarked on solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail that she documents in her best-selling memoir, Wild. Strayed's 1,000-mile journey of sorrow and, ultimately, healing, captivated millions of readers who could relate to her real-life struggles.
"One of the most important lessons I learned through the success of Wild is that it was such an affirmation," Strayed tells Oprah during her "SuperSoul Sunday" interview. "If you take that risk, you're not going step into the light and find that you're there alone. You're going to be surrounded by people who are there with you."
Though she became an inspiration to her legions of readers, Strayed's decision to expose her personal pain certainly wasn't easy. "Essentially, you're risking vulnerability. You're risking showing your truest nature," she says.
In all of her books, Strayed writes about "the greatest loss of her life" – the passing of her mother, who died from cancer at age 45. "There was a point where I felt like, OK, Cheryl, you need to shut up about this," she says. "A lot of people die of cancer. Quit complaining about it. Quit moaning about it. But I had something really true to tell about that loss, and also what came after that loss."
Strayed says she found her way "back to life" through remembering her mother's love.
It's that beautiful sentiment that resonated with so many of her readers. "Because I wasn't just talking about myself," she says. "I was talking about all of the people."
By sharing her personal story, Strayed says she found a connection with people from all around the world. "That's been astounding to me," she says.
SuperSoul Sunday airs Sundays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET/PT.
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