Title: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail”
Author: Cheryl Strayed
Publication: March 2012
Publisher: Vintage
Pages: 338
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again.
At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.
Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.
REVIEW:
I was hesitant about this book because of the topic. It is not something I typically read. But “Wild” turned out to be something I loved. It took me longer to read than most books for the simple fact that some of the topics Cheryl Strayed, the author, discussed were heavy. I took breaks to wrap my head around the things she had experienced or done or the emotions she was going through.
“Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” follows Cheryl Strayed as she embarks on a journey to hike the super secluded Pacific Crest Trail that goes from Mexico into Canada. She starts her journey in southern California and ends up hiking to the edge of Oregon and Washington. Through wild animals, lack of food and money, too-small shoes, and more, Strayed manages to push her way along and takes us along for the ride.
Strayed did a perfect job of depicting her struggles, realizations, and triumphs while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I felt as though I had become kindred spirits with the people she met, as she did. The raw emotions depicted in this story were incredible and real. If Strayed were to write another book. I’d definitely read it. This book motivated me to make goals for myself and strive towards them.
Fantastic job. Great visualizations. And most importantly a real woman we can all relate to in one way or another. Four out of five stars!
Make sure to pick up the book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble now. Also make sure to see the major motion picture adaption starring Reese Witherspoon hitting theaters in December.
You can also follow Cheryl Strayed on twitter or through her main website HERE!
