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She hiked over a thousand miles alone with a backpack too heavy for her body, no real experience, and a grief she didn't know what else to do with — and somehow, that walk became one of the most honest books ever written about coming back to yourself. This week I'm talking about Maester Cheryl Strayed: author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things, the voice behind the anonymous "Dear Sugar" column, and one of the people who taught me that healing isn't about waiting until you feel ready. I'm digging into her story, the lessons that have stuck with me the longest, and why her particular brand of honesty — no self-pity, no fake positivity — is exactly the medicine so many of us need right now.

Grab your headphones, hit play, and let's go.

Quote of the Week

"I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me."

— Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012)

Citations

• Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012)
• Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar (Vintage Books, 2012)
• cherylstrayed.com — official author website
• Literary Arts — official author biography
• Wikipedia, "Cheryl Strayed" (cross-referenced with The New York Times, NPR, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Deadline, and Publishers Weekly)
• Wikipedia, "Brian Lindstrom"
• The Hollywood Reporter, "Brian Lindstrom Dead: Doc Filmmaker and Cheryl Strayed Husband" (May 2026)
• Parade, "Cheryl Strayed Shares Her Husband, Brian Lindstrom, Has Died" (May 2026)
• The Wrap, "'Wild' Author Cheryl Strayed Mourns Death of Husband Brian Lindstrom: 'We're Utterly Bereft'" (May 2026) — source of Strayed's own tribute language quoted in this episode

Featured books:

• Torch (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006)
• Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012)
• Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar (Vintage Books, 2012)
• Brave Enough (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015)

Who this episode is for: anyone into memoir and personal growth podcasts, hikers and outdoor adventurers looking for their next trail read, fans of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things, and listeners working through grief, big life transitions, or the fear of starting something hard.

Loved this episode? Share it with a friend who needs a little courage this week, and subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.

Disclaimer: This episode is for informational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

Send us Fan Mail

This week I'm breaking format for a special Maester Athletes episode, built around this year's World Cup 2026 of soccer.

I tell the story behind the photo that went viral right before the match — Lionel Messi bathing a baby at a charity event almost two decades ago, a baby who grew up to be Lamine Yamal, the very player who faced him on the pitch. I dig into why I never doubted that photo was real (it's all about who you trust as a news source), why the hug between Messi and Yamal after the final is the most Project Weight Loss moment of the entire tournament, and what Kylian Mbappé's Golden Boot run — plus his answer about "collective spirit" in his Wall Street Journal interview — can teach us about discipline, joy, and showing up for our own goals without blame or shame.

I also walk through the real research behind why some people stick to their goals and others don't: Gollwitzer and Sheeran's 94-study meta-analysis on implementation intentions, a British Journal of Health Psychology study on exercise follow-through, and why motivation and information alone are never enough without a plan and regular self-monitoring. If you're working your own Project Weight Loss — on your body, your relationships, or your work in the world — this episode gives you the if-then framework to get back up fast when you slip, the way these athletes do. Share it with someone who needs to hear it this week, and don't forget to write down your own if-then plan.

Quote of the Week:

"To never stop dreaming, it's something free. Of course you have to work. Of course you have to do, like you said, sacrifice. But the most important thing is you have to dream. You can be young, you can be old, you can be whatever you want, but everybody can dream. And that's something free, and that's something that gives you the power and the patience to do the things after." — Kylian Mbappé

Citations & Links:

· Kylian Mbappé, "Kylian Mbappé Knows He's Too Competitive," The Wall Street Journal / WSJ. Magazine, Sept. 6, 2022 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHKnvLgG7HA

· Kylian Mbappé's 2018 World Cup bonus donation to Premiers de Cordée, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kylian_Mbapp%C3%A9

· Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.

· The exercise study citation: Milne, Orbell & Sheeran (2002), British Journal of Health Psychology 7(2), 163–184 (the 91% follow-through study).

· A source for the $1.1B offer: Forbes, July 2023, reporting Mbappé turned down a Saudi club (Al Hilal) offer, per L'Équipe — matches what you described as "widely reported."

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

Send us Fan Mail

This week, with the World Cup finals in full swing and my last team, France, still standing, I'm taking my podcast audience on a trip through 101 "so to speak" places I've loved and a few I'm still chasing — from watching monarch butterflies blanket the forests of Michoacán by the millions, to the light-and-shadow "descending serpent" that slides down the Kukulkan Pyramid at Chichén Itzá every equinox, to leaving a piece of my late sister's memory at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, to a total stranger's kindness outside the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam; I open up about the sister who raised me and first showed me the world, walking the Camino de Santiago, and why I believe you don't need a passport to practice the same curiosity, humility, and connection travel gives you — you can find it in your own neighbor, your own hometown, even a stadium watch party.

Quote of the Week:

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. -Maya Angelou

Episode 69: 3 Simple Strategies to Lose Weight or Stay Your Course While Traveling

Let’s go, let’s get it done.

Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org