applejacksbooks's review against another edition

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slow-paced

1.0

Not really sure why this is rated so high. This was chosen for a book club book (I would never read otherwise) and boy was that a mistake. I’m going to need a recovery period of no less than three months before I try another non-fiction book (lbvs tho some of the content in this seems non plausible). 

I would not have gotten very far if I had to read a physical copy. The narrator does an alright job (at 2x speed) making this bearable. Cheryl “hikes” the pacific crest trail after losing her mother to cancer and falling into heroine, to find herself. But she was totally unprepared. Her backpack was basically half her weight, she was unprepared for the elements, and basically thinks everyone wants to sleep with her along the trail. 

Now while I’ve never hiked something like this, one of my best friends did the Appalachian trail and I can confirm the people doing this get gross and smelly. There’s like half a chapter or two where the author talks about someone stealing her condoms. It just stuck out at a weird thing to focus on and the author focuses on everyone she meets being flirtatious and wanting to sleep with her A LOT. like no, they’re just being friendly. 

That being said. I won’t be reading anything more from this author and I don’t recommend this to anyone. 

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vulcanmr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.75

This book was so well written. It's amazing how you can dislike Cheryl so much for being unprepared and her past decisions, but also love her story and how she grows during this journey. 

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emilylovesgoodbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0


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miggyfool's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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jasminrain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

4.0


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jaym's review against another edition

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2.5


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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Nov 2016
I really enjoyed this. Her writing style means the description of hiking the trail never gets boring, which it quite easily could be. It's a pretty inspiring story. Not that I'm planning on going on an adventure like that but I do enjoy reading about other people's. 

Nov 2022
I re-read this via audiobook and it was as good as I remembered. It was quite interesting to listen to it as I walked to and from work because although I felt tired sometimes, it was so far removed from Strayed's experience it was almost comical. I really admire how open and honest she is about her flaws and bad decisions. She writes heartbreakingly about her mother and I think it's one of the best memoirs I've read. 

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whitneys_bookstack's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5


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hayleymunro's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.5


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alybarnett02's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

Really connected with the death of a parent, grief, and hiking. Truly reflective in how much taking on a challenge like this could shape you. So brave and inspiring! 

Least favorite part had to towards the end, where a moment on the trail became scary, I almost had to stop reading. But it’s real life when hiking alone. 

Slow in parts where it’s just Cheryl hiking for miles, but very good descriptions of what it’s like to be alone on a multi month hike.

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