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)

Good story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

What a dumb question.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Bernadette Dunne?

Maybe Cheryl Strayed herself? I found Dunne's voice irritating, and her attempts to replicate male voices by going "gravelly" were really distracting.PS---the "who" in the question should be "whom"

Do you think Wild needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Any additional comments?

I've been a fan of Strayed's for a while. Having backpacked portions of the trail she describes, I had to laugh at her naivete about how to prepare (I've been there!).

Great story

Totally enjoyed the adventure and feel empowered to do something similar that is on my list but have been too afraid to take that first step...

Wild?

I was expecting a book about hiking. It was not so much about that as about a personal struggle wrapped in the daily grind of a very long hike. Only near the end of the book does the reader grasp that idea, for the first third of the book reads a lot like a soap opera. Hooray for Cheryl Strayed in finishing a very grueling life objective.

Great read, makes you want to go on an adventure!

Easy book to listen to and follow along! Will definitely read more from this author!

Wonderful Book

I loved this book. It was real and honest. Her journey was both interesting and inspirational. I loved that this kept my attention the whole time but in a calm way, unlike a murder mystery that consumes every minute.

So glad I listened before watching

A must listen for strong female who questions her strength! So much better than I could have imagined!

Surprisingly moving

Though the bad decisions and poor planning Cheryl kept making drove me crazy at times, I found the story very compelling and moving. This is what so many traveling tales strive to be but few achieve. I may actually read it now because I felt the audio format didn't give me the time with the story I wanted. Highly recommended.

very moving, loved every second

loved this story, I've heard about it from almost everyone but didn't seem like something I'd like. one day I just decided to go for it and I'm so happy I did.

Fantastic journey

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

Absolutely. It was wonderful and had a great pace.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed, I cried, and I was disappointed for it to come to an end.

Any additional comments?

Strayed is a fantastic writer- a wise and tough human being.

Loved it!

Loved the heroine effect of a woman alone on a trail with her backpack and memories. I am a big fan!