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cayenne503 's review for:
Girl in the Woods: A Memoir
by Aspen Matis
I would like to say 3.5 stars but I'll be generous. Having read "Wild" a year ago I was excited to discover what I thought would be another story of a solo female long distance hiker overcoming her past and growing as a person. I do not feel that this book is that story. Maybe it's not supposed to be, and if so then it's fine. The author truly is a great writer, and although the story is at times frustrating or downright infuriating, I didn't want to put it down.
She describes the bizarre upbringing she had, including her mother dressing her-physically putting her clothes onto her body for her- until she was SIXTEEN. Her mother putting her down, telling her she was incapable of doing mundane tasks. It all sounded like narcissistic abuse to me. The author tries to escape and become an independent young adult upon starting college, only to become the victim of rape almost as soon as she arrived. She left for the PCT to heal from that experience and I SO DESPERATELY wanted to see it happen, and I could not believe the ridiculous decisions she made. Dumping out her water before entering the desert. Not carrying enough food. Attaching herself to a boy and declaring her love for him after like three hours. Calm down there Juliet. GETTING ACTUALLY KIDNAPPED WHAT.
However, she does overcome all of those obstacles and setbacks, and I had to remind myself that she was only 19 at the time, and 19 year olds do stupid things. But she did survive them and I guess she did grow, in the end. I wish this was a story more about her experiences with the trail than with the people on it. I wish the sections covering Oregon and Washington were as detailed as the one covering California. I wish it didn't morph into some weird romance story and drift away from the hike at the end. I guess if that's the story you want, go read Wild. But if you want the story of a kid growing up, surviving, and relearning to trust other people then this one is for you.
She describes the bizarre upbringing she had, including her mother dressing her-physically putting her clothes onto her body for her- until she was SIXTEEN. Her mother putting her down, telling her she was incapable of doing mundane tasks. It all sounded like narcissistic abuse to me. The author tries to escape and become an independent young adult upon starting college, only to become the victim of rape almost as soon as she arrived. She left for the PCT to heal from that experience and I SO DESPERATELY wanted to see it happen, and I could not believe the ridiculous decisions she made. Dumping out her water before entering the desert. Not carrying enough food. Attaching herself to a boy and declaring her love for him after like three hours. Calm down there Juliet. GETTING ACTUALLY KIDNAPPED WHAT.
However, she does overcome all of those obstacles and setbacks, and I had to remind myself that she was only 19 at the time, and 19 year olds do stupid things. But she did survive them and I guess she did grow, in the end. I wish this was a story more about her experiences with the trail than with the people on it. I wish the sections covering Oregon and Washington were as detailed as the one covering California. I wish it didn't morph into some weird romance story and drift away from the hike at the end. I guess if that's the story you want, go read Wild. But if you want the story of a kid growing up, surviving, and relearning to trust other people then this one is for you.