Wild by Cheryl Strayed

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.

I thought Wild was an enlightening read! I think anyone can reflect on their lives by taking a walk, but when Cheryl hikes the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) she really dives deep into her personal issues that nature helps her to overcome.

I learned a lot about what it means to be poor too, not just the unemployment kind of poor, more like the kind of poor were the only money you have is the fifty cents in your pocket. It reminded me that not many people would actually go out in nature and use what it offered, they would more likely complain about not being able to shower every day and try desperately to cling to the lives they used to have, but Cheryl never did. In fact, she seemed to embrace being able to walk through nature for the net few months.

It has a lot of support too, it’s, “one of the most heartbreaking, and beautiful American memoirs in years.” (NPR Books). Cheryl’s book is also considered, “Vivid, sharp, and compelling.” (People)

There is a lot anyone can learn for this book and if I ever went camping again this would certainly be a book I would bring with me.