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)

Grateful.

I am so grateful for this story. A true journey of healing and discovery. I am left inspired to do a "spirit walk" of my own. Thank you!

Captivating

Enjoyed this very much. Some of the background stories woven in broke the stride at times but not enough to overshadow the rest of the journey

enjoyable

What did you love best about Wild?

Always wanted to do the hike; now I don't have to.

What other book might you compare Wild to and why?

In to the Wild

Which scene was your favorite?

Saying good by to her horse

Any additional comments?

Greta effort by an up and coming author

Wild review

Man oh man. By the time I only had 4 hours to go I was done. Strayed seemed to just be reliving the same experiences over again in different places and trying to find new metaphors in order to reach the exact same epiphany. Too much time is spent on her mother in the beginning instead of mixing it in like strayed does with other moments from her life. Finishing this audiobook felt like walking my own never ending pacific crest trail. Not to say that I didn't hate it. I just wish the storytelling would have been able to do justice to the story.

Very entertaining story

What made the experience of listening to Wild the most enjoyable?

I thought Bernadette Dunne did a great job telling the story with all the different voices and energy used.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cheryl since you spend most of your time with her.

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

I thought she did a great job with all of them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Probably the moment her boot flew off the mountain wondering what she was going to do and how she would handle it.

thought provoking

great insights, makes me want to go for a hike alone, just for the meditation of it

I liked it...but

pretty good book. down to earth lady. slow reading speed so I increased the it

Life is what you take from it

Enjoyed her story a lot told beautifully,I could see my self in that story from beginning to the very end glad I spent the time listening.

THIS BOOK WAS OVERWRITTEN BUT NOT TERRIBLE EITHER

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

IT WAS NOT WELL SPENT OR WASTED. I THINK THE BOOK WAS ENJOYABLE ENOUGH BUT SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE.

Would you recommend Wild to your friends? Why or why not?

PROBABLY NOT UNLESS THAT PERSON LIKED BACKPACKING AND LONG LONG HIKING TRIPS.

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

I DON'T KNOW. IT WAS OK BUT WHAT COULD SHE DO IT WAS A BOOK ABOUT A SAGA OF ONE GIRLS LONG TRIP AND THAT WAS THE PLOT....WHAT HAPPENED TO HER ON THE TRIP.

Was Wild worth the listening time?

I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T FEEL CHEATED OR THAT I WASTED MY MONEY BUT I WAS NOT CRAZY ABOUT THE BOOK EITHER. I GUESS IT WAS WORTH THE TIME BUT I PROBABLY WON'T READ IT AGAIN.

Great story

At first I thought that the voice sounded too old for the character but quickly got used to to voice.