In language that's lyrical and haunting, Cheryl Strayed writes about bliss and loss, about the kind of grace that startles and transforms us in ordinary moments.

About the different levels of skill involved. You have to practice before you become a great masturbator.

What the river was showing her now was that she could flow beyond the brokenness, redeem herself, and fuse once more.

A perfectly happy marriage? There is no such thing. There are strong marriages that can survive problems, but happiness is such a brief condition, interrupted by difficulties and plain, boring routine.

About endings....unless we do them well, we have to keep repeating them.

Some acts of faith, I believe, have the power to grant us something infinitely wiser than we imagine

That's the nature of being a parent, Sabine has discovered. You'll love your children far more than you ever loved your parents, and -- in the recognition that your own children cannot fathom the depth of your love -- you come to understand the tragic, unrequited love of your own parents.