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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Brilliant! Dear Sugar columnist, Cheryl Strayed, has written a beautiful book about getting lost on the Pacific Crest Trail and finding out what her brutal 1100 miles journey could teach her.
I don’t understand the appeal of this book. It’s just a dingbat with no impulse control taking off to supposedly hike, but actually taking a bus past large parts of, the PCT.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Randomly last week I went to a talk by another woman who hiked the PCT last year, "solo," but I was struck by how many people seem to do it now, as opposed to when Cheryl did. I just loved her ballsy unpreparedness throughout her adventure, and I loved the lessons she learned about herself along the way. The metaphorical lessons that the Universe kept handing (and she kept interpreting). I feel inspired to get out and camp in the woods, despite my fears. I'm so appreciative of having found this book at this very time. I recently read The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch and loved it. Not surprisingly, but randomly, they are in the same writers' group - which is awesome.
It took me a while to finish this book, mainly because I wasn't into it at the beginning.
At first, I'm worried that Cheryl gave people the impression that they can survive in the wilderness, even when they are inexperienced and ignorant. I felt that Cheryl got extremely lucky that she could make it to the end, safely. However, I would take a precaution to those who think they could hike an extremely long trail with little to no experience; never, ever, mess around and underestimate the nature. Our limited human ability cannot control the nature. I'm inexperienced myself, but one of my acquaintance who is a hiker told me how dangerous it could be for inexperienced people to hike a mountain; there is a lot that goes into planning and preparing oneself physically, emotionally, mentally, and also safety.
Despite that, the middle part until the end of the book, I grew my appreciation for the character, Cheryl Strayed. I realized that her journey is not merely a physical challenge journey of hers, but also her self-journey with her emotional state. She showed how flawed of a character she and her life was, and she handled them like a normal human being could relate: the feeling of upset, frustration, and want to give up on life; multiple failures that lead to her usage of heroin, infidelity, and ultimately a divorce; endless grief as she realized she could never bring her mother back; but also how she picked herself up through it.
It's beautiful to see a perseverance in her and how accepting she is with her failures and strength at the end of her journey. She inspires me as a young woman to be strong, confident, independent, but also flawed (or strayed, in Cheryl's word) because life itself is not perfect; life will always go on no matter what, and it's important for individuals to keep going like what Cheryl did even though it might be a painful journey.
At first, I'm worried that Cheryl gave people the impression that they can survive in the wilderness, even when they are inexperienced and ignorant. I felt that Cheryl got extremely lucky that she could make it to the end, safely. However, I would take a precaution to those who think they could hike an extremely long trail with little to no experience; never, ever, mess around and underestimate the nature. Our limited human ability cannot control the nature. I'm inexperienced myself, but one of my acquaintance who is a hiker told me how dangerous it could be for inexperienced people to hike a mountain; there is a lot that goes into planning and preparing oneself physically, emotionally, mentally, and also safety.
Despite that, the middle part until the end of the book, I grew my appreciation for the character, Cheryl Strayed. I realized that her journey is not merely a physical challenge journey of hers, but also her self-journey with her emotional state. She showed how flawed of a character she and her life was, and she handled them like a normal human being could relate: the feeling of upset, frustration, and want to give up on life; multiple failures that lead to her usage of heroin, infidelity, and ultimately a divorce; endless grief as she realized she could never bring her mother back; but also how she picked herself up through it.
It's beautiful to see a perseverance in her and how accepting she is with her failures and strength at the end of her journey. She inspires me as a young woman to be strong, confident, independent, but also flawed (or strayed, in Cheryl's word) because life itself is not perfect; life will always go on no matter what, and it's important for individuals to keep going like what Cheryl did even though it might be a painful journey.
There are very few things that I have in common with Cheryl Strayed. Just a few years younger than she was during the journey she takes in "Wild" our lives have taken extremely different paths. And yet, as I read this book I almost felt as if I could have been reading my own words, my own journal. She writes in a manner that draws a reader in almost imperceptibly until you can anticipate her thoughts and feelings as if you are feeling them with her. Never once does Strayed write with an air of superiority or elitism and yet she isn't self-deprecating either. She just is. Which is all a part of what she discovers while on the Pacific Crest Trail. Journey to self-discovery aside, a love of backpacking and nature is reason alone to pick up this book as anyone who has ever backpacked will find solace and humor in Strayed experiences on the trail.
I think the "take a big leap to try to be a whole lot happier" theme of the book was exactly what I needed to read at this point in time. I hated Eat, Pray, Love and I hate nature and camping and hiking, but I loved every bit of this book. I laughed out loud a lot, I cried buckets at multiple points, and I think it just spoke to me in a way that only a really good book can do when you read it at the right time. I loved it.
I keep thinking about this book months after I have read it. The resounding theme is grief and how it can transform your life and who you are. There’s a quote that sticks with me that is so perfectly said and very relatable… “My mother died fast but not all of a sudden. A slow-burning fire when flames disappear to smoke and then smoke to air.” Beautiful and to the point, this book touched my heart.
This book was fun to engage in and was relevant to be because of my upcoming journey along the colorado trail. It is reassuring to me that if she can make it that far I can do something similar.
Author recounts her travails on the PCT over 10 years after she made the journey. Intensely personal account of a hiking and camping journey. She channeled intense internal suffering into physical suffering to exorcise some of the pain. Her perseverance and success is admirable. Do not attempt to replicate journey at home!
I really enjoyed this. While I can't claim to ever be "outdoorsy" in any sense of the word (mosquitoes looooove me, but I do really like Colorado outdoors because NO MOSQUITOES! Also I went camping with Girl Scouts kicking and screaming, because ew, snakes), I did relate to the concept. I get the desire to do something completely out of your comfort zone that others tell you you have no business doing just to show yourself you can. My version of this was a half marathon, which required months and miles of discipline and training, though by no means in the same way as hiking the PCT with a giant pack strapped to my back. (I successfully finished the half in November and now my version of this is roller derby.) I enjoyed her story a lot, even though in the beginning it seemed like she was mostly just making a lot of bad decisions, and I really enjoyed Strayed's writing. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie at some point.