“Wild,” by Cheryl Strayed

I am not one for reading books in which a person talks about their life. I like murder mysteries, fantasy series, but the idea of someone talking about their life never really appealed to me… until I found this book. “Wild,” set in 1995 follows the author, a woman named Cheryl Strayed who, in light of losing her mother and finalizing her divorce impulsively decides to hike the PCT (pacific crest trail). “Wild” is a truly captivating book about self worth and the ability to find yourself again. The author, and main character of this book is a #1 New York Times bestselling author according to her website cherylstrayed.com and ended up making her book into an Oscar-nominated film. This book opened doors for everyone, not just Cheryl, but even the half sister she didn’t know she had. According to NPR “The ‘Wild’ Story Of Cheryl Strayed And Her Long-Lost Half-Sister,” “And she was just halfway into chapter one when she said she sat bolt upright in bed and realized that we had the same father” stated Cheryl in the interview. Cheryl Strayed, bestselling author, wrote a book about a hard time in her life and ended up gaining a sister, showing the powerful effect of her words on herself, others, and the world. 

In the years leading up to the decision to hike the trail, Cheryl went down the wrong path, a dark path. She found out that her mother was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer and maybe only had a year left to live. However, that year turned into only 49 days after diagnosis where she had gotten weaker in the hospital and died. After that, Cheryl fell apart, she cheated on her husband Paul and took drugs as a way to try and relieve the pain. One day she came upon a book in the REI store called “The Pacific Crest Trail, Vol. 1: California” and knew that she could find her way back to herself if she did this trail. She packed up her entire life, quit her job, sold her stuff and planned out how she would do the trail. She knew that she wasn’t in a good place financially, but knew that she could never go on with her life unless she made it to the Bridge of the Gods. Something at this bridge called out to her. Cheryl starts the trail and only a few days through it she is in immense physical pain. She hadn’t been a backpacker or even a regular hiker before which made the start of the trail even more daunting. Along the trail, Cheryl dealt with not only physical pain that seemed to radiate throughout her entire body but also mental pain. While on the trail, Cheryl had to find a way to lessen her emotional baggage, after all, she had lost her mom, her husband, and everything that seemed important to her. All of this contributed to her internal conflict, the conflict that she was constantly having with herself. Her experience on the trail, while grueling, was also beneficial. She met a variety of different people, each of them contributing to the knowledge she gained while on the trail. Without these people, there’s a possibility that Cheryl wouldn't have been able to complete the trail. Though she wanted to hike alone, knowing that she was following people she had met only urged her to keep going. Cheryl went through deserts, rain forests, snowy mountains, and so many other different kinds of terrain on her hike, each bringing different challenges for her to endure. Later in the book she had romantic endeavors and finally ended the trail on the Bridge of the Gods. In the last few pages of her book, she looks back on everything she had done and even gives us a glimpse into her life after the trail. She mentions coming back to the bench where she ate ice cream after the trail with her future husband and children many many years later and how it felt to say that this is what she had done. 

Some things I liked about this book is that it was so incredibly detailed and descriptive. Cheryl had written the book “17 years after hiking the Pacific Crest Trail” according to DontHikeLikeWild.org which made the amount of detail provided astonishing. She remembered the names of every person she met, along with the food she ate, and the other challenges she experienced. Along with this, she also focused on the thoughts that she had on the trail like what was going through her mind at the time. It was fascinating to see how she handled every problem that came her way and never once truly thought about giving up. It showcases her perseverance and determination as a person which was shown so much throughout the book. I think that this is a great book to buy and read because it shows that confronting grief and pain can help you find who you are again. Cheryl didn’t let her divorce or her mothers death define her, instead she did something about it, she didn’t want to be remembered because of that, but because of how the trail changed her. So I implore you to find something that has truly turned your life around and show your gratitude towards that thing because it helped you and has probably helped many others overcome their pain and suffering as well.