Cheryl Strayed, memoirist/author: 'Alice Munro is such a fantastic writer'

Strayed discusses Amy Ellis Nutt, her attic office and comparing herself to Jane Eyre

Cheryl Strayed's new book is 'Brave: A Mini Instruction Manual for the Soul' (Joni Kabana)

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm in my bedroom in Portland, Oregon. I can see my laptop and my cup of tea. My dog Janie is lying on the floor. I can see my pink Nike running shoes.

What are you currently reading?

Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt. It follows one American family for 18 years as identical boy twins are born and one of them realises he's really a girl. It was fascinating and enlightening.

Choose a favourite author and say why you admire her/him

Alice Munro. I think she's such a fantastic writer, on a craft level, to be able to create a feeling, a moment or an exchange between two characters, in ways that are so real to me. When I read her work I recognise the truth in it, yet she can also express things that I didn't even realise were true until I read her work.

Describe the room where you usually write

I had the attic of our house made into an office. I was adamant that in that room I wanted the feeling of being alone. It has a wall of windows that overlooks our neighbourhood.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

That's a hard one. If I were flattering myself, I would say Jane Eyre. It's an aspirational comparison. She was a pretty cool woman. Also, Alice Munro's character Del in Lives of Girls and Women. She is basically me, I so identified with her.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Without question, my mother. Something that increases over time is my understanding of what an exceptional person she was even though by all appearances she was just an ordinary woman. Often the extraordinary lives in the ordinary, right?

Cheryl Strayed's new book is 'Brave: A Mini Instruction Manual for the Soul' (Atlantic)