Kira FlowerChild answers “I haven't read the book yet - I'm waiting...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail:

I haven't read the book yet - I'm waiting for it to come in at the library. She says in the book that she changed her name to Strayed after she divorced her husband. That's very weird. A search on the internet says she has two siblings, both with last names Strayed also. I guess she changed their names too. I've done long distance hiking and on the surface I doubt her integrity. Any comments?

Kira FlowerChild I changed my first name legally when I was thirty for personal reasons (my last name I had already changed when I got married), not on a whim as Chery…moreI changed my first name legally when I was thirty for personal reasons (my last name I had already changed when I got married), not on a whim as Cheryl did but as a deliberate act, separating the first 30 years of my life from the remainder (at 63 now, I've had my "new" name longer than my original one). Does that make me unreliable? If I should write my memoirs, including the period of time when I had that other name, would I be lying? I know that most people don't understand why I changed my name, especially my relatives, but that's okay. I'm not that person with that other name any more, and haven't been for a long time. I totally understand why Cheryl needed to change her name. She wanted to leave her old life behind. That was her first step toward doing that.(less)

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Lora I agree. I did read the book after I wrote this comment and watched the movie. I do think she had a life changing experience. But imho it was poorly c ...more
Sep 10, 2017 08:38AM · flag

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