Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail in Reading List Completists

Sep 11, 2016 Ev rated it liked it

Q: What kind of person:

A) Kills her marriage by cheating on her husband with multiple men, gets addicted to drugs, gets pregnant by a drug addict, kills her unborn baby and shows no remorse because "It made me beg the universe to give me another chance. To let me become who I needed to be before I became a mother: a woman whose life was profoundly different than my mother's had been."? (A mother, who ironically, had the option of aborting her children, yet didn't, which is why the author is arou ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

I did not know what to expect when picking this book up. I knew Strayed was embarking on this hike (across the PCT) with 0 experience. I knew there was a movie coming out soon which would star Reese Witherspoon and was already nominated for a ton of awards. I came to 2 conclusions.

1. Why on earth did this peculiar lady want to go on such a journey without any experience or preparation?

2. There must be quite an emotional and physical journey involved for Miss Witherspoon to get such praise.

I was ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2014 Sue K H rated it it was ok

Shelves: collard-s-crew-read

I couldn't bond with Cheryl Strayed despite having lost my mother early as well. There didn't seem to be any big revelations other than she didn't feel the need to sleep with as many men afterward and I didn't see the correlation. There seemed to be a lot of focus on how the men hikers were enthralled with her. I wasn't. I have no desire to hike the Pacific Crest Trail partly because I didn't before hand and she didn't make it seem the least bit fun or enlightening. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Jane rated it liked it

This book is a solid 3 stars in my personal rating system. This means it is a perfectly average and engaging read. Before I started, I didn't know too much about it and expected it to be a story about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. It was, but at its core it really is more of a story of growth and learning from a deeply troubled woman. At first, I was irritated with Strayed and could not stop groaning and rolling my eyes. I found her whiny and self indulgent. I was stunned by how she had This book is a solid 3 stars in my personal rating system. This means it is a perfectly average and engaging read. Before I started, I didn't know too much about it and expected it to be a story about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. It was, but at its core it really is more of a story of growth and learning from a deeply troubled woman. At first, I was irritated with Strayed and could not stop groaning and rolling my eyes. I found her whiny and self indulgent. I was stunned by how she had an abortion and then just glossed over it like it was a non-event. (2 sentences in the entire book devoted to discussion of the abortion. That is disgusting and base in my opinion. And the metaphor of reaching the Columbia River being like giving birth? Um, what the heck?? Was that on purpose?) She didn't test most of her gear before setting out on her several month trek along the PCT which is so stupid. I found it difficult to believe she just kicked her heroin habit cold turkey without any mention of rehab. I have no real world experience with this, but from what I understand that is pretty much impossible. Around 100 pages in, though, I managed to relax a bit and let myself enjoy her story and how it unfolded. Sure, Strayed showed questionable judement and morals, but she had a difficult upbrining and the loss of her mother was devastating. Her courage along her journey was admirable and the metaphorical tie-ins to her personal struggles was mostly well done. I loved how she stuck to her plan to hike alone even when she had the option to join others. I could relate to her and the story of the too small boots because I've been there myself! I was so impressed with her for continuing to press on and the ingenuity of the duct tape booties. That takes real strength. I was also so engaged when she hiked through Oregon in many of the places along the trail where I have hiked, run, and camped myself. Overall it was an interesting read. It inspired me to do a several day trek along the PCT myself and living so close, I have no excuse not to! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Jenbebookish rated it liked it

Shelves: books-turned-into-movies, 2013

I heard and read a lot of reviews for "Wild" blasting Cheryl and her story lines, complaining themselves about too much complaining, turning their noses up at her and her experiences and saying that she was stupid, self destructive, ditzy, etc etc. Those are the boring people, the people who have never been overwhelmed by emotion a day in their lives. The people who went to whatever state college was nearby so they didn't have to move out of mom and dad's, they majored in business and married ac
I heard and read a lot of reviews for "Wild" blasting Cheryl and her story lines, complaining themselves about too much complaining, turning their noses up at her and her experiences and saying that she was stupid, self destructive, ditzy, etc etc. Those are the boring people, the people who have never been overwhelmed by emotion a day in their lives. The people who went to whatever state college was nearby so they didn't have to move out of mom and dad's, they majored in business and married accountants and CPA's and hate roller coasters and have never taken a hit of pot. But for everyone else, anyone who has ever made a mistake, or wallowed in misery maybe just a little too long... for the wallowers and the dwellers. You'll sympathize with Cheryl, perhaps even empathize, and recognize in her both her weaknesses and her strength. She's only human, as people like to say, and she's just a woman making very human choices, coming to grips with her equally human strength.

In the wake of her mother's death Cheryl tries desperately to hold what remains of her family together, to her detriment. At that point in their own lives, they are dealing individually and separately with her mother's death and are unable to participate in the whole family thing, leaving Cheryl devastated and alone. Her step dad who been a father to her had remained loyal and quiet throughout her mother's cancer has remarried, and quickly! And her younger brother has gone AWOL. Upon the realization and acceptance of her family's unraveling Cheryl goes into self destruct mode. Which people should understand. Evidently it takes up to 6 months to get over a loss or a death. That means that psychiatrists and doctors have concluded that it is acceptable for a person to flail following the death of a loved one, that 6 months of depression and uncharacteristic choices and laying around in bed are "allowed." All these Cheryl bashers seem to be slightly less forgiving, expecting nothing but unwavering strength/courage/intelligence. She has lost her mother for crying out loud! Her mother, and then her family as well and is left a young girl alone in the world. To lose both of those things is to lose your safety net, that feeling that somebody will always be there to help you, that knowledge that somebody exists that will always be there for you. As a young girl myself, who at 26 is independent yet still fully aware of the cushion that having a loving and supportive family entails, I have nothing but sympathy for Cheryl at this point. To lose what she lost when she lost her mother is a big deal. She deserves some allowances for her behavior that was not always kosher. Which is what her behavior was definitely... not. She runs amuck, losing sense of self, ruining her marriage with a good man, gets involved with another not so good man, gets involved with heroin, etc etc. But she finally gets it together, as people with solid foundations always seem to do. With her mother's voice in her head she realizes that she needs to make a change in her life and after having been fixated on a guide book she saw somewhere along the lines on the PCT decides that that will be her self imposed "break" from her life. She will hike the PCT. Which is no small feat! Being 23 years old, mostly inexperienced,& short on cash flow one would imagine a solo trek along the entire pacific west coast may not be the wisest thing to do... BUT! She is Cheryl Strayed and nobody is tougher than her! (she makes those words her mantra, repeating them over and over again along her harrowing hike, using the words as motivation to go on)

So she sets it all up to the best of her inexperienced capabilities and sets out on the hike (going against the advice of the one person in her life whom is actually still there for her; her now ex husband) totally, ALONE. That to me is the bravest thing she does. To face not only all the dangers and struggles of nature and the trail entirely alone but to face herself as well. To be ready to spend that solo one on one time with herself, ready to face any demons she may have. And that is her plan, until she actually begins the hike and realizes how profoundly unprepared she was. So begins a torturous journey where all thoughts of her mother's death, her divorce, her mistakes etc etc are pushed far back in order to deal with her more demanding, immediate issues like her painfully aching back and raw blistered feet. Things like whether or not she will have enough water to make it through the desert, or whether she will find a flat place to sleep. But she's a toughie, which is why I end up liking her, and she pushes thru. She starts off a seemingly ditzy lil chick and ends up a strong woman, body and mind. Of course meeting multiple of her own little adventures along the way, making her own personal little triumphs.

There were times where I got a little bored. What may have seemed like incessant complaining to others was what I figured to be her attempt at portraying the total impossibility of ignoring her physical ailments. Yet still, I got a little tired of reading about the blisters on her feet, how heavy her pack was. Also, she seemed almost too lucky. She experienced every typical bad experience on the trail; running out of water, coming across snakes and bears, getting lost, falling down and hurting herself, even having to deal with a potentially dangerous or hostile man, and yet came thru it all unscathed. Perhaps she really was just lucky, but it all seemed a little too unrealistic to me. It's supposed to be a memoir, I was at times left pondering the likeliness of a little embellishments, exaggerations. But who cares I guess, I read it like a novel I wasn't obsessed with the notion of it being a true story-- ultimately it made for mostly good entertainment and I enjoyed hiking the PCT with Cheryl. I even felt inspired to start hiking! The idea of hiking along the entire pacific west coast is interesting and exciting. And in my opinion any book that inspires in any way is a success! I'd suggest this book to most, I've already bought another copy to give to my mom to read in her book club. ...more

Like · see review

Jul 04, 2013 Valerie rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club, z-2012grchoices

I was kind of reluctant to read this one, but my commitment to my book club won me over. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story. I liked the book, even if I felt that the author had very poor judgement. I can't help but wonder how much of the story is fact and if the author chose to embellish her tale. In fact, given her own narrative regarding her nature, that would not surprise me a bit. Either way, it was an entertaining story. ...more

Like · see review

Dec 04, 2012 Brittney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Two things about this book:

1. Never have I ever read a book that made me take into account my own life journey quite so much.

2. Never have I ever read a book that made me want to go on a long hiking trip, even though I know perfectly well that I have no business going on any kind of camping trip that doesn't include consistent running water. Damn. ...more

Like · see review