Book Talk: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Sum it up: After the sudden death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed embarks on a journey to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Non-fiction.

Thoughts: It felt like a few months ago I was hearing about this book everywhere, and now I know why.

Here’s the thing about non-fiction: Translating your emotional mindset and thought process accurately onto a page is hard. It’s harder when it’s during an emotionally trying, personal time in your life. It may not seem hard, but it’s easy to put emotional barriers between yourself and the truth, to distance yourself between something that was painful or embarrassing. When the emotional core of a book falters, at best you have a book about a topic you might be interested in, but at worst you won’t even be interested enough to get to that information.

I mention all of this because at times, Wild feels more like a fiction novel than a nonfiction one. Not because of any unbelievable events in the book, but because Strayed is just so good at finding and leaning on the narrative thread (and the emotional core) that ties her entire story together. She’s able to look at herself without putting her own ego in the way, without softening or shying away from anything, and it’s that confidence that gives us such a frank and engaging picture of who she was.

That’s what takes Wild and makes it into something special–a really great book.

There are a few stories here going on simultaneously as Strayed hikes the Pacific Crest Trail and thinks about all the places her life has gone wrong. From a failed marriage to the death of her mother. The narratives are woven together so well, with the painful emotional aspects of the past contrasting with the physical demands of the trail in a way that mirrors the journey and transformation that Strayed herself went through.

The picture the book paints isn’t always pretty. A lot of times it’s painful. But if the book is about anything, it’s about hope and moving forward whenever you can, past pain and mistakes in the past.

Needless to say, I’m glad I finally picked this book up.