‘Wild’ Author Cheryl Strayed’s Husband Dead at Age 65 Weeks After Sharing His Fatal Illness

UPDATE — 5/15/26, 3:20 p.m. ET: Wild author Cheryl Strayed announced the death of her husband, filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, at age 65, just two weeks after publicly disclosing that he’d been diagnosed with a “fatal illness.”

“Brian Lindstrom died this morning the way he lived—with gentleness and courage, grace and gratitude for his beautiful life,” Strayed, 65, wrote via Instagram on Friday, May 15. “Our children, Carver and Bobbi, and I held him as he took his last breath and we will hold him forever in our heart.”

Strayed initially cancelled a series of public appearances on April 30 amid her husband’s diagnosis with a “fatal illness.” She subsequently confirmed in Friday’s announcement that her husband battled progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare brain disease.

(Per the Mayo Clinic, PSP is caused by damage to cells in the brain that control movement, coordination, thinking and other critical functions. The terminal condition impairs walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing and can often lead to secondary issues such as “pneumonia and trouble swallowing.”)

“The only thing more immense than our sorrow that Progressive Supranuclear Palsy took our beloved Brian from us is the endless love we have for him,” Strayed wrote. “What tremendous luck it was to be his partner for more than thirty years. We loved each other and our kids with deep devotion and true delight. He was a stellar husband. He was the most magnificent dad. He was a man whose every word and deed was driven by kindness, compassion, and generosity. He saw the goodness in everyone. He believed that we are all sacred and redeemable.”

Strayed celebrated Lindstrom’s filmmaking work — which included the 2013 documentary Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse — before acknowledging the profound loss that their two children, Carver and Bobbi, were facing.

“His greatest legacy is Carver and Bobbi, who embody everything good and true about their father. Their extraordinary grace, courage, and fortitude during this harrowing time was unfaltering and grounded in the undying love Brian poured into them every day of their lives,” the author recalled. “We do not know how we will live without him. We’re utterly bereft. We can only walk this dark path and search for the beauty Brian knew was there. It will be his eternal light that guides us.”

Original story:

Author Cheryl Strayed canceled her upcoming appearances as her husband, Brian Lindstrom, navigates an undisclosed health scare.

“My beloved husband, Brian, has been diagnosed with a serious, fatal illness and, for that reason, I had to cancel my writing workshop at Kripalu and also my appearance at Hunter College this week,” Strayed, 57, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, April 30. “My apologies to those of you who made plans to be there.”

She continued, “I simply cannot do anything but be with my family right now and see to our broken hearts. I ask that you hold us in your thoughts, prayers, light and love.”

Strayed, who has been married to Lindstrom since 1999, did not further disclose his condition. She also defended posting on social media amid his health battle.

“If it seems emotionally dissonant to see me posting cheerful clips from my podcast each week, now and over the coming several weeks, it is for me too,” she added on Thursday. Those interviews, which I loved doing, were recorded previously, in easier, happier times.”

Several of Strayed’s social media followers offered their support in the comments section.

“Prayers are with you 🙏🏼,” Hilary Swank replied, while Adriene Mishler added, “Cheryl, thank you for modeling care and connection. ❤️My heart is with you and yours and we are here for you as you are for so many. All my love.”

Michaela Watkins, for her part, called Strayed’s update “very gutting” to read.

“May miracles of mending technology find you,” Watkins, 54, wrote on Thursday. “May your love of each other and of those who love you hold you so so tight. We are all with you in this pain.”

Strayed is a renowned author, best known for her 2012 memoir, Wild. In the book, she completed a months-long hike along the Pacific Crest Trail to cope with the death of her mother.

“My mother’s death brought me to what I think of as my most savage self. It stripped me of the one thing I needed,” the writer recalled in a 2022 interview. “My mother was the taproot of my life. And suddenly, I didn’t have that anymore. I had wild love for my mother. I had wild sorrow. And then I went wild. I went wild into my life.”

She continued at the time, “The most important thing I hope readers will take away from Wild is the realization that I’m not different from them. I’m not any more courageous or brave than anybody else. I have plenty of fears. I could walk down this driveway and get creeped out by, you know, a sound.”