Wow. This is an incredibly moving, engaging, hilarious, honest, humble story of redemption. Imagine Anne Lamott combined with Jon Krakauer and no cash.

A down and out, adulterous, wandering, drug addled, grieving 26 year old woman sets out on a path of personal recovery. But the detox is not a 12-step program. It's a hike hundreds of miles along the Pacific Crest Trail, carrying a backpack so overloaded its nickname is Monster.

Along the way there are moments of grace and terror, of physical defeat and emotional resilience, of natural beauty and trail monotony, and inch by inch, sentence by sentence, a regaining of strength and purpose that has the reader cheering along with every step.

There are laugh out loud moments. There are a few times readers will feel the tears rise. Dwight Garner's review in the NYTimes captures those extremes nicely.

When Cheryl reaches the end of the trail, we know she will not return to her old ways. We know at the Washington state line that she is not the same person as the woman who set out in southern California.

This is a fine book and a worthy read. It will continue in your head days after you've closed the book. Bravo.