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 Listened right after Tiny Beautiful Things

As I said about Tiny Beautiful Things, also by Strayed, if the whole world loves a book, the chances are that I’ll hate it (e.g., Eat, Pray, Love—which is probably my least favorite memoir of all time). But since I loved TBT, I thought I’d give Wild a try. I enjoyed it just as much, albeit in a different way.

Tons of reviews for this Wild, and FanB14’s review echoes my thoughts about the book. So I’ll say: so far, this is this best memoir I've read this year, albeit long after everyone else read it. I think I read it at the "right" time. I think it's well suited to reading when you're in
hard place, which doesn't have to be anything like the author's dark place. And you don't have to have any interest in "long haul" backpacking--I've got about zero interest in the subject, but nevertheless found all those details about the hike and nature captured my attention and held it. As did the reason for Strayed's hike.

Not a big fan.

I didn't really enjoy the writing style. Performance was good. Although the book seemed both immature and pretentious. Cheryl just complains the whole time and doesn't really learn anything worthwhile on her hike. She was strong to make it all the way but she treats the smallest inconvenience like it is mt. Everest. So when real trouble comes along it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. Her mom showed her how to be optimistic and cheerful through tons of hardship and she seems to just love wallowing in her own misery. I didn't hate the book though and it was pretty entertaining at times. I might recommend it to someone else.

Glad I Took the Trip

I am probably one of the last people to read and review this book because I tend to shy away from most Oprah selections. Yes, Oprah has inspired thousands to pick up a book who otherwise might not have and catapulted authors into super stardom and for that I applaud her and am thankful. I just tend to stray from over-hyped books at first. There, I said it; please don't hate me.

This selection was wonderful and here is why I enjoyed it. At 26, Cheryl was divorced from a man she loved; lost her supportive mother to cancer; abusive father left around age 6; disconnected from siblings; and was pulling out of a previous spiral into the world of heroin. Finding herself in a dark place, she turned to the guide for hiking the Pacific Coast Trail as many people turn to the Bible or any other source of enlightenment to find themselves.

Strayed shares abundant, almost copious details from her 2 months journey, laying out all the ugly and pretty inbetween with a raw, soul-searching style. You embark on the ill-planned journey of her life in addition to the hiking trip and travel not only through the rough terrain and mishaps, but deep into her soul searching. I don't find her self-involved or Godless, merely honest and I enjoyed each and every step.

Some reviewers disliked the narrator and I admit I wasn't crazy about her voice at first. If Cheryl was 26, I was thrown how the narrator's gravely older voice didn't match. However after the first 30 minutes, was hooked. Grew to think of her as the present day Cheryl recounting the past.

If you read and enjoy this title, download or pick up a copy of Mary Karr's, "Lit."

Whiny, self-absorbed & a painful listen

Whiny, self-absorbed, poorly written & as interesting & relevant as a 13 year old's diary. Narration was painful too but I blame the author for the miserable writing. See the movie instead.

Amazing Undertaking--Good Book

Previous reviews have made it clear, this is not a wilderness/adventure, it's not Into the Wild. The title is an adjective describing the author--the book, a personal journey with the PCT being a backdrop,--the backpack "Monster", probably a metaphor for Strayed's emotional load. Had there been reviews when I picked this book up, I might have made a different choice, but am glad now that I stumbled upon this. It was entertaining, moving, and frank; the writing was well done; the narration interpretted nicely.

Strayed writes about a difficult early life, leading up to the PCT choice, with detailed clarity, providing a more dimensional emotional component to the characters because of her adult recall some 20 years later. In spite of a "wild" personal lifestyle (at the time) she still writes the characters with honesty, even warmth and humor. She describes a pretty rough and amoral young woman, as well as some characters, in the community of trail nomads, that use the F-bomb in every part of speech known--and a few more. She doesn't pander for sympathy, she doesn't shrink from possible judgement--which she could easily do; but her writing style is as brave as her undertaking the PCT.

Only 3 stars?...I thought this a good read, but wouldn't pass it along unless someone was already considering the book. While giving such an honest account of her personal journey was brave, as Strayed described the trail at times--parts of her journey were "tedious". The parallel story of the actual hike? A brave undertaking with equal parts of lunacy involved; or at the very least, based on her lifestyle at the time and drug use, some wreckless disrespect for nature that realistically carries some weight regarding "bravery". I would caution readers: the passage dealing with putting down the mother's horse is brutal to the point of being traumatic, and impacted me immensely, even though I have witnessed such an event. I almost put down my ipod and quit; while a necessary event, I question the necessity of subjecting the reader to the horrible details (but then it is her book). Understanding upfront what this book is about, I think almost every reader will like this one--some more than others.

REALLY...?!! A book about PCT?

If you are reading "Wild" to experience the PCT, be warned. She skips the first 150 miles from the border and rides in a car for most of the trail's path in the Sierra. Doesn't hike a mile in Washington state.

Not a book I would suggest my 16 year old daughter read.

What am I missing?

I just wasn't blown away by this book. Interesting enough story, but I just couldn't really feel any empathy for Cheryl.

Cheryl Strayed into my heart

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

I listened to the audio edition on a long drive alone. Then I bought the e-print book and read it aloud to my wife. Both were moving experiences.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cheryl Strayed. I understood her grief for her mother due to similar circumstances in my life. Hiking the PCT was an (un-realized) dream of mine in my youth, and is still something I long to do. Cheryl's honesty is her most amazing trait (or at least equal to her story-telling); she somehow manages to be brutally honest, while never being in the least bit offensive.

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

I listened to Margarette Atwood's "The Year of the Flood." Dunne clearly has range and is very believable in both narrations. I just purchased another of her narrations in Atwood's "The Robber Bride." I am looking forward to it but am saving it for my return drive home in a few weeks' time.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. But I listened to it in two sittings - it was a two day drive!

Any additional comments?

This is a book which should be read aloud. Listening to the audible version was so satisfying. And then it was amazing to find that reading it to my wife aloud was equally so. I think it has to do with the honesty of voice in the writing. The story begs to be heard.

I bought this at the last minute before a long solo drive as I knew I needed the companion of a book to get me through the miles. Admittedly, I was intrigued by the title and like many commenters here, I assumed it would be more of a travel log. I had no idea what to actually expect with regard to just how interesting (or boring) a reading it might be but took the chance anyway. Unlike many of my disappointed co-commenters, I was struck by my avid joy at having found such a gem which delivered so much more on several levels that I could ever have anticipated. Far from being disappointed to have found out that the book was not a travel log, I simply abandoned that preconception, and associated expectations, and launched with joy (and a lot of tears) into this wonderful story which was about so much more.

Cheryl didn't find lemons and make lemonade. Instead she found rattle snakes where she thought she'd find lemons, and adjusted to their rattle. She found torn feet where she thought she would find deliverance, and worked and worried through the pain of her toes and heels daily. Just as some readers here have done, she found things she hadn't expected. She dealt with the disappointments. And found pain mixed with joy mixed with discovery and fun in the bargain.

Frank, touching and funny - a real page turner

I am an avid mountain hiker, so when browsing Audible.com and spotting a book with a hiking boot on the cover my interest was peaked. Listened to the prologue and actually gasped, then laughed, then listened with mounting interest. I bought the book.

This is not a book about the Pacific Crest Trail and it is. I know, sounds crazy doesn't it? The PCT is the main thread, it gives the story continuity and a goal. The real story is how and why Cheryl Strayed happens to be on (or strayed onto) the trail. She takes us on her life's journey, along many of the lows, a few of the highs and shows us what lessons she took away from them.

In the telling CS is absolutely frank and honest. She tells us things most of us probably wouldn't tell our mothers, perhaps not even our best friends and certainly not total strangers. But it makes the telling even better. And she tells the story well! CS has a smooth writing and storytelling style, that drew me in. At times I found myself laughing out loud, while at others I was moved to tears and at all times I wanted to know what would be/happen next!

Bernadette Dunne does an excellent job. The narrator can add something to a book or absolutely destroy it. I've put probably perfectly good books away, because the narrator annoyed me so much I couldn't go on listening to him/her. Not BD though, she adds to the story!! At no point does she become irritating, annoying or worse. Her pleasant voice and style make reading this book an even better experience.

Sometimes the language is explicit (i.e. when CS writes about a sexual fantasy or her experiences with drugs), but never abusive, always functional and always with a lesson to be learned. Not forced upon us, but the attentive reader can pick it up easily.

Like I said before: the book is not about the »PCT« and it is. The part that is, tells us how best to prepare for a long distance hike .... or not ;-). The hiker in me gasped at her description of her first packing of her backpack, then laughed out loud when the image of her lifting it was conjured up in my head, suffered with her when she talks about her hiking boots and was not a little jealous when thinking about making a similar trip myself.

»Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail« is totally enjoyable. No lessons need to be learned if you don't want to. You can just enjoy a good reading/listening experience. Your money would not be wasted. However, all of us can take something away from this book and take a fresh look at our own lives to see where own particular »PCT« might lead. Then your money definitely won't be wasted.

So, to everyone - hiker and non-hiker alike - I say: buy this book!!

Like a car accident.

The narration was well done. The story, well, was like coming upon a horrific car accident. As awful as it was, I still couldn't seem to walk away. The story is everything wrong with our western society. Drug addictions, promiscuity, adultery, abortion, divorce, alcohol, insecurity, and spiritual starvation all wrapped into one person. One person who can ponder the meaning of her own life while casually throwing having an abortion amongst the list of things she did to prepare for her hike. She struck me as a very deep thinker in some aspects while in others so incredibly shallow and self absorbed as to make you nauseated. For someone who had always dreamt of being an author, I find it interesting that one of her favourite adjectives is 'f-ing'. Not for anyone under the age of 18, and definitely not for anyone easily offended by someone who can cross nearly every moral boundary and somehow justify it as something she couldn't help but do. The fact that this is a true story makes the entire thing that much worse.