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)

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

I love the narration, I love the writing, I love the story... This has been my second time listening to this book and I was still very excited to hear it.

A very human way out of a heartbreak.

Kept me captivated, and made me want to hike the PCT. Will have to read the books quoted here.

A Must for Summer

Where does Wild rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Certainly within the top 10.

What did you like best about this story?

The way the author was able to convey her inner monologues so well. I really felt that I was looking right into her the way she was doing.

Which character – as performed by Bernadette Dunne – was your favorite?

I really enjoyed her portrayal of Strayed's mother. It was like I could fully imagine her - almost feel what her presence would be like.

Any additional comments?

Just a wonderful listen! An inspiring story that has you traveling along on Strayed's inner journey as she moves along the PCT. Sometimes "memoir" frightens me because there is a fine line between telling a good story about your own life and merely giving the reader a summary of one's life. I like that Strayed stuck to one particular moment in time but wove in bits and pieces of her history to given us a well-rounded look at her journey.

Awesome

Made me want to backpack again now more than ever to get back to nature.

Eye Opener Into Your Life

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it is inspiring and thought provoking about who you really are.

What does Bernadette Dunne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The feeling and reality

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

One more chance to be you

Any additional comments?

I felt her pain and gain. I realized it before she did and wanted to encourage her. Cheryl did not disappoint me.

Wow!

Thrilling & inspiring adventure wonderfully told. Narration is spot on Love Strayed's masterful weaving of past & present.

Good

Well written book. Had me from the beginning. I love the adventure that she so ignorantly stumbled into and by the end was a changed woman for it. Also there are a few parts that are a bit sexually descriptive and really unnecessary, but other than that i'm sure this book will inspire many to go on there own journey as it has to me.

Great Story

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It stirs up that part in me that I can anything. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Wonderful book, terrible narration

Would you listen to Wild again? Why?

No, great story, but once was enough. Lots of good books out there.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator is really, really horrible. She changes her voice to make the characters sound different from each other, which may or may not in itself be a good idea, but what is so offensive about her performance is that she makes all the male characters sound like sleazy molesters and all the women like frail little girls on the brink of tears. At some point she tries to do a Swiss accent that sounds terrible, and more Russian if anything at all. The narration really detracts from the book. A lot.

Thought provoking

I struggled starting the book because I had just gone through the loss of my own mother and watching her slowly go through the dying process. However I'm glad I stayed with the story.