Wild

From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

By: Cheryl Strayed

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Wild is a powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an 1100-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe - and built her back up again.

At 22, 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: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State - and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Strayed faced down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

©2012 Cheryl Strayed (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

“No one can write like Cheryl Strayed. Wild is one of the most unflinching and emotionally honest books I've read in a long time. It is about forgiveness and grief, bravery and hope. It is unforgettable.” (Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle)

“While reading Cheryl Strayed’s stunning book about her arduous solo journey along the Pacific Crest Trail, I kept asking myself - what would I do if I were stripped bare of everything - money, job, community, even family and love? Thoreau once said, ‘In wildness is the preservation of the world.’ For Strayed, it is clear that in wildness was the preservation of her soul. She reminds us, in her lyrical and courageous memoir Wild, of what it means to be fully alive, even in the face of catastrophe, physical and psychic hardship, and loss." (Mira Bartók, author of The Memory Palace)

“Cheryl Strayed can sure tell a story. In Wild, she describes her journey from despair to transcendence with honesty, humor, and heart-cracking poignancy. This is a great book.” (Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia and Seeking Peace)

Outstanding

I struggled with having to stop listening to this audiobook once I started. I would recommend this to anyone..

Loved this book!

Would you consider the audio edition of Wild to be better than the print version?

It was very inspirational and entertaining! What book can do that these days? It motivated me to try such a hike!

Wow!

What an incredible Story.. Cheryl Strayed is a truly amazing woman. She has sparked an adventure in my soul. I want to embark on some sort of journey of the soul

A mediocre e book...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Although an interesting story,I became bored after I read about 40% of it. I understand and am empathetic to her life experiences, but the majority of us go on with our lives, and don't 'run away' or seek solace in drugs or destructive relationships. I felt this was the story of someone who chose to run away from life instead of facing it head on. I'm sure it may be of interest to others, but I've read better books.

Would you be willing to try another book from Cheryl Strayed? Why or why not?

It would depend upon the topic of the story line.

Have you listened to any of Bernadette Dunne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't know if I've heard others, but she was a wonderful performer, and I will look for her books again in the future.

Was Wild worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

I guess this book's story line just wasn't something that would interest me. I've always faced life events head on and never tried to escape from anything by "running away". I find that concept boring.

Wild: A brief review

This was a remarkable story, all the more poignant because it was true. My wife read the book and loved it, but I can’t imagine experiencing it any other way than hearing the narration that begin with a road trip from Reno to Las Vegas (about 8 hours) and then keeping me company on my commutes from work. While on one level it is just a story of a long hike, on a deeper level it is a metaphor for facing one’s fears, bucking conventions and overcoming obstacles to finding what is truly essential about courage, the soul and one’s place in the Universe. Thank you Cheryl for sharing your inspiring journey! —Paul T.

What wild did to me

I started reading Wild during my evening walks, which I started during the Pandemic. It transported me to the Pacific Rim Crest with Sherry... and her personal journey. I loved her story, raw, authentic, sharing her feelings, her thoughts, her encounters and her transformation ... beautiful and inspiring. I was happy to get back to the book every day and walk while i listened to her soothing voice. Great book!

What was the purpose?

Easy listening. Good story. I would have liked a bit more wisdom along the way. Very detailed and well written

Finding yourself on the Pacific Coast Trail

WILD is the story of a young woman who is trying to find herself. Following the death of her mother, with whom she was very close, and a divorce, Strayed finds herself alone and adrift. Feeling that her life needed direction, she decided to spend some time alone with her thoughts - hiking the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT). This arduous journey that takes hikers over 2650 miles, from the Mojave Desert, through California and Oregon, and to Washington State. The hike generally lasts about 5 months. The PCT is challenging for even seasoned hikers, but Strayed was not a seasoned hiker in fact, she had no hiking experience. So at 22 years old, she took off by herself on the PCT, her adventure of a lifetime.

Wild is the story of Strayed’s journey, both physically and mentally. It’s the story of what she learned along the way, about hiking, about herself and about life. “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.”

I expected to like this book more than I did. Strayed is a talented writer. The book was interesting in parts and occasionally humorous. Her wreck-less and potentially dangerous decisions, starting with deciding to hike the PCT alone, with zero knowledge of equipment and little information on what she faced was off-putting. But she made it, in one piece. Her tenacity is admirable. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anyone else read this book? What did you think? PS this is a review I wrote several years and and recently discovered in my old book-reading log

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not bad

the horse part had me almost in freaking tears... this chick went through some serious stuff and worked it out by section hiking the PCT... admire her spirit.

Incredible!

Listen to her podcast Dear Sugars to get a taste of the emotional honesty in this beautiful book!