Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I read this book right after losing my own mom. it hit home on many levels. I too felt the need to go on a solo adventure to find myself...stare fear in the face! Of course I didn't so I lived through this book. Sure some parts were slow but I was so into the content i kept reading to go on this adventure with her. I loved it.
This reminded me a lot of Eat Pray Love and I really didn't like that book either.
I should have known by the description that this would be kind of naval-gazing and it was. Cheryl is at least open about most of her own failings (which wasn't the case in Eat Pray Love) and that was refreshing. I just got frustrated throughout the book that she keeps making really really stupid decisions and manages to make the trail more difficult than it already is and then congratulates herself on getting through such terrible obstacles. Obstacles that she largely creates herself. She makes her life harder than it needs to be and then constantly congratulates herself on getting through these tough times. It gets annoying.
Both Cheryl and the author of Eat Pray Love are those kinds of women who seriously can't be without the attention of a man for a very long time which is also frustrating to read about. Just the fact that Cheryl brought condoms on the PCT tells you a lot about that aspect of her personality.
I should have known by the description that this would be kind of naval-gazing and it was. Cheryl is at least open about most of her own failings (which wasn't the case in Eat Pray Love) and that was refreshing. I just got frustrated throughout the book that she keeps making really really stupid decisions and manages to make the trail more difficult than it already is and then congratulates herself on getting through such terrible obstacles. Obstacles that she largely creates herself. She makes her life harder than it needs to be and then constantly congratulates herself on getting through these tough times. It gets annoying.
Both Cheryl and the author of Eat Pray Love are those kinds of women who seriously can't be without the attention of a man for a very long time which is also frustrating to read about. Just the fact that Cheryl brought condoms on the PCT tells you a lot about that aspect of her personality.
This was a great story about one woman's wilderness adventure to heal herself. Perhaps I got more from it than I normally would because I lost my dad just over a month ago, but I found her thoughts similar to my own.
This book brought me to tears, laughter, and everything in between. In the first few pages, I was already entranced in Cheryl Strayed's writing. Her story is so much more. I feel like this is a book I need to keep close to me. Maybe a journey I could take myself someday.
This book has gotten a lot of hype from both Oprah and Chicago Trib Printer's Row. So maybe I expected too much. As a memoir it was okay (but no Joan Didion), as a travelogue it was okay (but no Peter Mayle) and as literature it was average (I could list a bunch of authors). What Strayed does best is take us back to being a lost 20-something. (Her's was a tragic loss but she is not alone in her suffering.) She really captures the voice of that self-absorbed time when we thought we could conquer the world and solve all our own problems. I was disappointed that her imagery wasn't stronger - I really don't have any solid visual of her experience. Most of her time seemed to be spent off the trail, rather than on it - another disappointment. It was hard for me when she equated getting an abortion with making trail mix. So all in all, a good read but not as good as I hoped.
I was bummed by all the negative reviews. This woman was so open and honest about her life after her mother died. I doubt many people could be so candid. I admired her courage and, even when it would have been easier to succumb to her desires for companionship or the "real" world, she stuck with her goal of finishing the trail alone. I feel like those who knocked the book down are intimidated by her candor and scared that they could never have the same courage.
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
It's super rare for me to give anything 5 stars, but I connected to this story on a personal level and that's what put it over. Being an avid hiker/packer in my heyday, there were certain nuances of authenticity that really drove this book home for me. It wasn't all BS and alliteration, you could tell she really went through and did all of the things she wrote about. Long-distance hiking is no joke, and for a complete, unprepared novice to attack something like the PCT is a story all in itself.
I loved her writing, raw and shameless, the story would not have been the same had she left out some of the parts that would make anyone wince or second-guess lending this book to their grandmother. Whether you are into hiking or not, this book is a great example of the power of the human spirit and it's sheer will to survive physical and mental anguish.
Must read!
I loved her writing, raw and shameless, the story would not have been the same had she left out some of the parts that would make anyone wince or second-guess lending this book to their grandmother. Whether you are into hiking or not, this book is a great example of the power of the human spirit and it's sheer will to survive physical and mental anguish.
Must read!