Torch

By Cheryl Strayed

Categories: Literature & Fiction

Torch is the debut novel by Cheryl Strayed, first published in 2006, years before her memoir Wild. Set in rural northern Minnesota, it follows the Wood family after Teresa, a mother who hosts a local radio show, learns she has terminal cancer at the age of thirty-eight. The story moves between Teresa, her husband Bruce and her children Claire and Joshua as they face her illness and then her absence. Drawing on Strayed's own loss of her mother, the novel is about grief, family and finding a way forward.

Recommended by 1 person

• Emma Watson: “Its been less than 3 weeks and I have devoured Torch, Tiny Beautiful Things and Wild. Thank you @RWitherspoon @CherylStrayed x”