“Nobody’s going to do your life for you. You have to do it yourself, whether you’re rich or poor, out of money or raking it in, the beneficiary of ridiculous fortune or terrible injustice. And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard. No matter what unjust, sad, sucky things befall you. Self-pity is a dead-end road. You make the choice to drive down it. It’s up to you to decide to stay parked there or to turn around and drive out.” – Cheryl Strayed
Image: Dead enD by Geoff Llerena via Flickr.
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
That’s a great quote — I love Cheryl Strayed. Is it from WILD? I don’t recognize it, but it’s been a while since I read it.
I am not certain if this quote is from Wild. It might be from Tiny Beautiful Things. Have you read it? So insightful and take your breath away good.
Enjoyed this. Hope you don’t mind I copied it and posted it on facebook.
Bobbi
I am glad the quote resonated with you, Bobbi, and you felt compelled to share it on Facebook.
I love this quote and I love her!
Her work is fantastic. I always learn something new when I revisit her essays or books.