Novelist, essayist, and memoirist Cheryl Strayed is an American author whose books have been published in more than 30 languages. Strayed’s memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, chronicles her 1,100-mile solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, which she embarked on after losing her mother to cancer.
Wild reached number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list and was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon. Strayed’s book Tiny Beautiful Things, a collection of her popular Dear Sugar columns, has influenced the well-being of untold readers around the world and spawned her top-rated Dear Sugars podcast. A long-time feminist activist, Strayed served on the first board of directors for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts, and has been active in many feminist and progressive causes.
In Statues for Equality, Cheryl Strayed is standing in a sunflower, a flower that can reach up to six feet tall and is native to North America. Sunflowers symbolize love, loyalty, and longevity, paying tribute to Strayed’s time spent in the American wild.
Cheryl Strayed's incredible bronze statue will be unveiled in downtown Ellicotville in early June 2021 before heading to its permanent home at the Griffis Sculpture Park & The Essex Art Centre.
