Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail in The Book Vipers

Jan 11, 2015 Kelly Furniss rated it really liked it

I chose this book after it repeatedly being mentioned by some of my book club pals. It's a memoir about a young female adult of 22yrs old who looses her Mother, cheats on her Husband (who she loves dearly), starts taking heroin, has an abortion, notices her once close family are now scattered then on a whim and and with with no hiking experience decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone, more than one thousand miles through the Desert, California, Oregon and Washington State in order to get I chose this book after it repeatedly being mentioned by some of my book club pals. It's a memoir about a young female adult of 22yrs old who looses her Mother, cheats on her Husband (who she loves dearly), starts taking heroin, has an abortion, notices her once close family are now scattered then on a whim and and with with no hiking experience decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone, more than one thousand miles through the Desert, California, Oregon and Washington State in order to get her head straight.
Cheryl our character's background and history is covered well and I warmed to her as she took responsibility for a lot of the crazy decisions she had made in her life so far. I could relate to some of the issues Cheryl faced and this is where the book won it for me as she openly explored the feelings and frustrations of dealing with the grief of her mother, this issue is still very raw for me and I could completely sympathise and found myself emotionally choked a few times in recognition of my own experience.
The author is not shy in sharing the grim details of her journey, the loss of toenails, dehydration, sore skin, huge weight of her backpack, aching joints and the physical effects on her body this is the main concern of narrative, we can really feel the daily struggles and fears she is facing and as a women alone this is no mean feat. I enjoyed meeting all the different characters as Cheryl met other people along the way on the trail which all added to her experience in one way or another. I admired her and am very glad she ultimately felt she had spiritually 'found herself' in the end but am glad she decided to share the story with us.
For me this book nearly had it all, I only didn't reward it the five 5 stars because the overuse of sexual references frustrated me but it's an adventure, tragedy, it's got lust, infidelity, drugs, family dynamics, friendships, soul searching and brilliant humour. This novel had me crying one minute, fearing for her the next then laughing out loud at scenes and if a book can get you doing all that then what is not to like?.

* Goodreads Book Challenge 2015- Book 6
* Pop Sugar Challenge 2015- A book that made you cry
* Bibliotheque Challenge 2015- A book that became a movie ...more

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Mar 25, 2015 Cindy rated it really liked it

Standing in a checkout line at REI, Cheryl Strayed saw something that would change her life forever. A book entitled “The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1: California,” captured her attention. She read the back cover, then set it down and continued on with her errands. However, the seed had been planted. She came back later and bought the book, which led to the epic journey she describes in her memoir, “ Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail ,” when she hiked the PCT by herself one Standing in a checkout line at REI, Cheryl Strayed saw something that would change her life forever. A book entitled “The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1: California,” captured her attention. She read the back cover, then set it down and continued on with her errands. However, the seed had been planted. She came back later and bought the book, which led to the epic journey she describes in her memoir, “ Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail ,” when she hiked the PCT by herself one summer in 1995 at the age of 26.

Strayed was at a low point in her personal life. After her mother’s death at a young age, the family had drifted apart. Alternating between denial, anger, and grief, Strayed made some risky personal choices. Recently divorced from her husband, the hike would be a pilgrimage of sorts, “the arguably unreasonable decision to take a long walk alone on the PCT in order to save myself.” At the end of the hike, she intended to move to Portland and start a new life.

Although she had planned meticulously in some ways, Strayed overlooked some basic preparation, perhaps out of overconfidence or naivete. She had never hiked or camped by herself before. She was carrying too much, overloaded with non-essential gear while missing key items. After struggling with her mistakes and finally reaching her first rest stop, she was fortunate to meet up with other more experienced hikers who helped her make some important adjustments in her backpack and taught her how to use some of the gear.

In addition to the inadequate physical preparation, Strayed faced unforeseen complications such as record amounts of snow, equipment problems, and financial difficulties. When she felt overwhelmed and considered her options, “There was only one, I knew. There was always only one. To keep walking.” In overcoming the challenges, Strayed proved to herself she was strong enough. She learned to forgive herself for her mistakes, and she worked through her grief and anger at her mother’s death.

I really liked the book. It was both a remarkable story and very well written. Strayed didn't hide the less positive aspects of her behavior, such as her promiscuity and drug use. As she hiked the PCT, I could see Strayed starting to turn her life around. Her courage to continue on her journey no matter what was inspirational. I like stories of redemption, and Strayed tells her tale with humor and hard-won insight. ...more

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May 17, 2012 Linda C rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2021, favorites, read-2012

I loved this story. (I say story, rather than book, because I listened to it as an audiobook, rather than reading it myself. I might also add that the reader did a fabulous job,or maybe I should say that she did her job-- she read the book out loud. She didn't do a bunch of stupid voices to show how talented she was; she just pretty much read the book in her own voice, which became, of course, Cheryl's voice. The voice thing is my pet peeve with audio books-- just read the damn book, PLEASE, whi I loved this story. (I say story, rather than book, because I listened to it as an audiobook, rather than reading it myself. I might also add that the reader did a fabulous job,or maybe I should say that she did her job-- she read the book out loud. She didn't do a bunch of stupid voices to show how talented she was; she just pretty much read the book in her own voice, which became, of course, Cheryl's voice. The voice thing is my pet peeve with audio books-- just read the damn book, PLEASE, which this narrator did very nicely.)

Certain other reviewer's called Cheryl immature and self-indulgent, which was something that I initially thought as well, until I remembered how young she really was when her life fell apart. She was a bit of wild child anyway, and then to find herself a virtual orphan at 21, no wonder she self-destructed. She shouldn't have been married at 19 under even the best of circumstances; her stepfather shouldn't have walked away from his kids when his wife died, he had been their father for 10 years, then he turned his back on them; no 21 year old could hold her family together after essentially losing both parents.

One reviewer said that she should have appreciated having her mother for 21 years-- come on, she was a kid. My young adults can barely make dinner for themselves. They couldn't possibly care for themselves if they found themselves in her shoes. Under the circumstances, I think she actually did the best she could.

Her writing was brutally honest; she took responsibility for all the bad choices she had made, including the destruction of her marriage (although I didn't totally buy that myself-- at one point, her husband Paul, started graduate school in New York, but didn't last the year, deciding that he would rather be in a band instead, so there was immaturity on his part as well). A marriage of two teenagers was probably already doomed; her mother's death just hastened the process.

Some of the reviewers compared this book to "Eat Pray Love", but I don't buy that either. That book WAS crap, the self-indulgent ramblings of a 35 year old woman, someone definitely old enough to know better, who believed herself to "be one with God" (I think that was the India section). "Wild" is a coming of age memoir by a truly likable person. I wanted her to conquer that trail, get her life in order, and go onto to have a great life, which it looks like she has. She is married, with a couple of kids, living in Oregon, and making a living writing.

She writes with warmth, charm, and humor and she has the ability to laugh at herself (she called her backpack "Monster" because it was so large that she could barely carry it).

I am curious to see if I would feel the same way about this book if I had read it, rather than listened to it, but this has been one of my best books this year. ...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: pacific-crest-trail, travel-book

This book was very emotional for me, it made me cry, be angry, get mad, be afraid, be proud and fully complete. Since I lack the words that demonstrate what a great book this is, I will defer to the Kirkus Review-- "A candid, inspiring narrative of the author's brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a renewed sense of self." ...more

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Apr 09, 2016 Neesha rated it really liked it

Shelves: memoirs

Really entertaining read, and had a lot more depth than the movie would imply. I can't really relate to Cheryl's struggles with her troubled early life and the loss of her mother, but I can relate to the struggles of a backpacker. I've only done short trips but there's a certain pride in suffering through it and a certain unfathomable joy in returning to creature comforts. That first meal after returning from the trail is always the best meal of your life. ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Ruth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, autobiography-memoir, kindle, full-deck-book-vipers-challenge, 2015-books-read, travel-holidays-on-the-road

The only reason it took me so long to read this is because it was the first book I ever read on Kindle and maybe because I had seen the film first, so I knew what was going to happen. I love it though and definitely will read it again. Top marks !

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