The Torch

“I have cancer…..”  states Teresa and those words set the stage for Cheryl Strayed’s book, The Torch.  The book draws a great deal from Strayed’s own real life history relying on the people she has interacted with during her growing up in Minnesota.  The story starts with Teresa’s sharing of the diagnosis with her two children, Claire and Josh, and then goes back into the day leading to the announcement.  Teresa, a survivor of a physically abusive relationship with her first husband, lands another man in her life, Bruce, who serves as a legitimate father figure for the two children, though the two do not wed until right before succumbing to cancer.  The story reminds me so much of the author Jodi Picoult in that (seemingly) all of the social issues of life become part of the storyline in this book.  Strayed’s strength is the development of the characters.  Teresa’s growth as a person is captured with a sense of realism and purpose.  The first half of the book focuses on her life prior to cancer, and the second half focuses on what happens to the three main people in her life after Teresa dies.  Needless to say, the three do not do well after Teresa’s death.  Her son Joshua gets involved in dealing drugs, even to a single mom, until the guilt gets to him.  Eventually he is arrested after he learns his girlfriend is pregnant.  Teresa’s daughter, Claire, becomes frigid and incapable of sustaining the sexual part of her relationship with her “live-in” boyfriend.  She eventually confesses she had an affair with the husband of a patient who died of cancer that she met when her mother was dying.  And then there was Bruce, whom seems to be shy of formal commitment, as witnessed by his decade long relationship with Teresa without marrying, then marries the next door neighbor a few months after Teresa’s passing.  The aftermath of Teresa’s death is pretty devastating to the three who were left behind.  Grief does come out in different ways, too bad the characters were unable to lean on each other a bit more.  Clearly some counseling would have helped this trio!  While I thought the characters were believable, the “onslaught” of issues was a bit over the top.  This would make for a great Monday night movie on Lifetime.  Not my favorite read, luckily it reads quickly and not a long book.  Not necessarily needed to be added to your list.  Sure to come out on a network tv channel movie at some point in time.