06 May 2018

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail



Goodreads synopsis: At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Vintage Books, 2013.

How acquired: Via BookCrossing.

First line: The trees were tall, but I was taller, standing above them on a steep mountain slope in northern California.

My thoughtsI've been sitting at my computer for five minutes and can't seem to come up with anything more eloquent than wow, what a fantastic book. I can't even begin to imagine doing what Cheryl did. I doubt I would last a full day on the trail before giving up and packing it in. But it's not just her first time hiking adventure that was fascinating. The peeks at her childhood and how she grew up were just as fascinating. Raw, honest, emotional, with no sugarcoating her faults and the bad choices she made. Completely riveting and engrossing.


I thought I had seen the movie, and was a little confused and taken aback at the beginning, with all the stuff about her mother's cancer. Then when I saw the title of chapter 5, “Tracks”, I realized that the movie I watched was called Tracks, which was also from a book, by Robyn Davidson, and which I very much want to read now. 

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