Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail in DC Public Library

Jun 04, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir

I love reading memoirs about people whose lives are incredibly different than mine. This book is definitely one of those. I, for one, would not have the... uh... cojones to hike a trail that I had never been on by myself. I mostly would be sort of terrified to sleep in the woods by myself. I'm a fan of hiking, but only in the daylight and only with other people on a well-traveled trail. Just the thought of this makes me incredibly jumpy. Anyhow, I was more than happy to just live vicariously thr ...more

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May 19, 2012 Emilie rated it liked it

Shelves: biography-memoir, books-to-tv-movies, california, travel-vacation

This book wasn't bad, but I'm not sure it's deserving of all of the hype that it is receiving from being named an Oprah selection. I would recommend it to those who are interested in long backpacking trips, hiking in California or the Pacific Northwest or maybe those who have lost someone dear to them, but I don't think I know anyone that must read this title. ...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Christina rated it really liked it

Shelves: northwest, 2012, memoir, nonfiction, hiking

This book started out with an uphill battle for me to like it. I've already read two other books I enjoyed about people through-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and I was irritated to learn that I was reading yet another story about someone who sets out on a massive trek like this without ever having done a single night of backpacking beforehand (!!!! Ridiculous! And starting to become a cliche of the genre!!! Packing way too much gear, not knowing how to use equipment, etc.). Also, the author of ...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Megan Reichelt rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, spiritual, adult

Ever since she lost her mom, Cheryl's life had fallen apart. Divorce, drugs and sex to fill the void, family members pulling away, giving up on college. And that is just the beginning. She hits rock bottom, and on an impulse, decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail which spans from Mexico to Canada. She is unprepared for the rigors and dangers of the trail, but through tenacity, luck, stubbornness, and sheer will, the trail turns from enemy to old friend. It breaks her down and builds her back u Ever since she lost her mom, Cheryl's life had fallen apart. Divorce, drugs and sex to fill the void, family members pulling away, giving up on college. And that is just the beginning. She hits rock bottom, and on an impulse, decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail which spans from Mexico to Canada. She is unprepared for the rigors and dangers of the trail, but through tenacity, luck, stubbornness, and sheer will, the trail turns from enemy to old friend. It breaks her down and builds her back up again as she tries to remember the child she once was and the woman she wants to be.

I always have a hard time reviewing memoirs. How do you review a person's life? I have never had something as devastating as Cheryl's mother dying make my life implode. I stand on the outside looking in, wondering if the same thing would happen to me. Part of me scoffs at the thought of me falling so irreparably apart that I destroy every other good thing in my life. Part of me fears that I would.

This is what makes the first half of Cheryl's memoir so bafflingly heart-wrenching. When yet another mistake or tragedy rears it's ugly head, you don't know whether to laugh in disbelief or cry. The sequence with her mother's sick horse captures that feeling perfectly. It just gets more and more painful and you go right through "morbidly humorous" and right out the other side into sickeningly awful again.

The trail starts the same way. Cheryl is woefully unprepared (or over-prepared, judging by her overstocked backpack) for the trek. She overestimates her walking stamina. She encounters bears, rattlesnakes, skeevy skeevy men, dangerous snow and ice, looses her shoes, misses her supply packages, and runs out of money several times. She looses 6 toenails and gets cuts and bruises and blisters all over. And yet, through it all, she perseveres. She learns from her mistakes. She builds muscle, and confidence. She makes friends with strangers. She navigates the wilderness. She braves hostile animals and humans. She rediscovers the strength within herself. She learns to forgive, and she is finally able to let her mother go.

Cheryl's transformation was a joy to read. She goes from flailing about to fill the hole in her heart to finding peace in simplicity. It is written by an older Cheryl Strayed, looking back at this time in her life when she was 26. As a 28 year old, I had to keep remembering that this was not a mid life crisis book. This was someone younger than me who had experienced this huge upheaval and forced herself through a crucible of transformation.

Many people have criticized this book for two things: 1) her seemingly horrible life choices and 2) her blind naivete on the trail which could have lead to her death, and now she is encouraging others to do the same thing. To those people, I say 1) Walk two moons, people. 2) Cheryl made no bones about the dangers of the trail, and how most of her survival was shear luck and the kindness of strangers.

Cheryl learns. She changes. She overcomes. Regardless of the decisions she made in her time of trouble, she comes out transformed.

An inspiring read! ...more

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Aug 11, 2013 Maryann J-D rated it liked it

eh. i initially avoided this book because i saw it as a rough-and-tumble version of eat pray love. but a friend raved over the book, and convinced me that i should give it a try.

she was right -- it is definitely not "eat pray love" goes hiking. but, as another goodreads reviewer mentioned, after a while, the story gets a little monotonous (spoiler: she walks A LOT and tells you she walks A LOT), and never quite gets to the depth that i hoped would resonate with me. ...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Erica rated it really liked it

A cold Snapple, a hot shower, a warm meal. And the unearthly blue of Crater Lake. Everything takes on extra significance for Strayed after walking hundreds of miles and sleeping under the stars. Makes me want to get out on the trail too!

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May 20, 2013 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, around-the-world, real-people

It took me a bit to get into this one, but once I got past Part 1 and her life choices between her mother's death and the beginning of her hike, I really enjoyed it. I do wish she had spent more time writing about her time in Oregon though. I was surprised when I got to the point in the book where she crossed the border from CA to OR that there were so few pages were left. It also would have been nice to get a short chapter about re-acclimating to life off the trail. Otherwise it was an engaging ...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Jess rated it really liked it

Not quite as much concentrated amazingness as Tiny Beautiful Things, but a great window into long-distance hiking and the author's growth and experiences. I didn't expect to be so interested in the mechanics of hiking and dealing with pain, but her description is definitely improving my mental game for running and hiking. ...more

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May 08, 2013 Carly rated it liked it

Didn't like her, I also thought there were too many side stories of men approaching her. But I did appreciate her journey and learning about the Pacific Crest Trail. Also, Reese Witherspoon is playing her? Seems like a poor choice. ...more

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