WILD is a new memoir by Cheryl Strayed that recounts the months the author spent hiking alone on the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT), from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon, all the way to Washington State, following her divorce and the death of her mother.
I was incredibly excited to read this book after reading an excerpt in the March issue of Vogue the the subsequent news that Reese Witherspoon had optioned the film rights for the book. I couldn't even wait for my Amazon 2-day delivery for this one - I picked it up at the bookstore the day it came out.
The stories from the trail are absolutely riveting, beginning with Strayed making rookie mistakes like not trying on her pack until the day she sets out on her journey and including encounters with bears, dangerous men, and unpredictable weather. I have never been on a hike and the idea of me camping would send anyone who knows me into fits of uncontrollable giggles, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about everything Strayed encountered on the PCT -- from mishaps like losing a boot and needing to create booties out of duct tape to the overwhelming kindness of strangers along the way.
The author chooses to interweave stories from her past along with her account of her time on the PCT, and I definitely enjoyed the tale of the trail more than the stories from her younger years, which include bad relationships, heroin use, casual sex, and more. That said, it was an undeniably effective tool for helping the reader understand why a 26-year-old woman would choose to hike solo through 1,100 miles of wilderness for several months, and her transformation following her time on the PCT has that much more of an impact.
Truthfully, it has taken me some time to review this book because I was somewhat torn about my feelings about it. Strayed doesn't shy away from portraying herself negatively or acknowledging her shortcomings, and it's clear that she was damaged, bruised, and broken long before she took her first step on the trail in her too-tight hiking books. Some of the stories are difficult to read, and the author's brutal honesty is shocking in a way that makes me wonder if it's only there to shock me. I was also expecting a "woman vs wild" story about the experience of an inexperienced hiker, traveling more than 1,000 miles alone through the woods, and was surprised to see that the tone is more along the lines of "woman vs self," touching on themes of grief, loss, abandonment, and reinvention in the life of a self-destructive young woman.
Ultimately, though, I enjoyed the book and would absolutely recommend it. It's very well-written, and the author's voice is lively, entertaining, and engaging.
Ultimately, though, I enjoyed the book and would absolutely recommend it. It's very well-written, and the author's voice is lively, entertaining, and engaging.
