Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found
By Cheryl Strayed
Publication Year: 2012
Type: Non-fiction
Genre: memoir
Read on 2018-12-17
View additional specs on this book in Muhan’s 2018 Reading Survey ➞
★★★★☆
My first impression of the Wild phenomenon was from the Gilmore Girls revival, which really like was not good. I had this impression of Wild being a gimmicky millennial Goop-esque tale of a white woman going into the true wilderness and finding her self, whatever that means. Happily, I was convinced my several sterling reviews from people whose opinions I value to read it myself - because this book is bomb.
Cheryl is a damn good writer, first of all. I’m chucking this into my mental pit of references for great examples of poignant but not sappy non-fiction memoir/personal narrative writing. Second, the true experience she had of hiking the PCT and where she was in life is just undeniably a book worthy tale to tell. Hiking the PCT the way she did is just no fucking joke, and you know what - Gwyneth Paltrow could never.
I got so into this book I couldn’t help myself from stopping partway to watch the movie and I briefly considered not reading the rest. The movie was great but quite different as it necessarily lacks a lot of the internal dialogue and reflection and general back story of a lot of events and themes. I’m very glad I did finish the book, because you really don’t get the full picture just from the movie. In any case bless Reese Witherspoon for bringing this book to the masses. And Cheryl Strayed for almost tempting me to want to hike the PCT haha.
I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by the author herself, and remember I did in fact cry in a grocery store (not H Mart).