Author Cheryl Strayed has revealed that her husband, director Brian Lindstrom, has been diagnosed with a “serious and fatal illness.”
The 57-year-old author, whose memoir Wild was made into a 2014 film starring Reese Witherspoon as Strayed, apologized to her fans after being forced to cancel a scheduled role amid her husband’s 25-year battle with health.
“My beloved husband Brian has been diagnosed with a serious and fatal illness,” she wrote on Instagram Thursday.
“As a result, I had to cancel my writing workshop in Kripalu and my attendance at Hunter College this week,” Strayed added.
“We apologize to those who were planning to attend. All we can do now is be with our families and watch over our broken hearts.
“We ask that you keep us in your thoughts, prayers, light and love.”
Ms Strayed said it could feel “emotionally dissonant” to see her posting “hilarious clips” from her Mind Over Mountain podcast amidst all the news.
“The interviews I loved were recorded earlier, when things were easier and happier,” she clarified.
Strayed is the author of “Torch,” “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” “Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar,” and “Brave Enough.”
Tiny Beautiful Things, based on her advice column, will be made into a Hulu series in 2023 starring Kathryn Hahn, and Witherspoon received an Academy Award nomination for her role as a lost hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail in Wild.
Documentary maker Lindstrom is known for directing 2013’s “Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse” and 2022’s “Lost Angel: The Genius of Judy Sill.”
He and Strayed also co-directed the 2019 film “We Are Forbidden.”
The couple met in 1995 and have two adult children, Bobby Strayed Lindstrom and Carver Strayed Lindstrom.
“27 years ago today, I met this beautiful man. Literally half my life ago,” Strayed wrote in a 2022 Facebook post.
“The next day I wrote in my diary: ‘I met a guy named Brian Lindstrom last night. I don’t know who he is, but I think he’s going to be someone for me.’ Little did I know how right I was. And how lucky I was.”
Strayed has frequently spoken of her husband’s support throughout her career.
“I can’t do anything without him,” she told The Great Discontent in 2012.
“When I was writing ‘Torch,’ he believed in me more than I believed in myself. He’s always, always, always been there for me whenever I needed him. He encourages me. He believes in me.”
“He’s a great person and a great filmmaker,” she added.
“A lot of people ask if we’re jealous of each other or competitive with each other because we’re artists. I always wonder about that because we support each other in every way.”
