I was constantly struck while reading Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed of how much
the author would have benefited from a network of friends. Strayed herself realizes this, and asks why her mother did not have a core group of close female friends who would “swoop”
in when she was sick and then dead, offering help, meals, a shoulder?
Her mother never invested in such connections, but relied on
family, which in the case of Cheryl and her mother was completely inadequate. Strayed’s mother held the family together,
and when she died it fell apart. My wife
has such female friends ready to “swoop” in if disaster strikes. For many of the women I know, these networks
are not only social outlets but almost life insurance. They know if disaster strikes, help will arrive. Strayed did not have this. In many
ways this thoughtful and well-written memoir is the result of not having such
insurance.
Her mother never invested in such connections, but relied on family, which in the case of Cheryl and her mother was completely inadequate. Strayed’s mother held the family together, and when she died it fell apart. My wife has such female friends ready to “swoop” in if disaster strikes. For many of the women I know, these networks are not only social outlets but almost life insurance. They know if disaster strikes, help will arrive. Strayed did not have this. In many ways this thoughtful and well-written memoir is the result of not having such insurance.
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