Reviews

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

swimlaurie's review against another edition

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3.0

After hearing about this book, I was prepared to hate it, but I don't. At least not yet - at pg 83...
Granted she IS kind of an idiot. Maybe I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now and just say she's lost. Finished the book. My opinion has not changed.

meredithkhd's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow. I don't know why I waited so long to read this book. No, that's a lie; I do know why. I tend to avoid Oprah Book Club picks but that's just the former bookseller in me rolling my eyes at that little sticker making people read a book that's been out forever, a book they ignored until Oprah told them different.

OK. I needed to get that out, apparently. :)

Anyway, I finally decided to read/listen to this book and I'm so glad I did! I loved nearly every part of it, from her relationship to her mother and the need to do something different, to the honest truth that she was totally unprepared and still she walked. There were a few instances that kind of dragged, but they were few and far between. She was walking for miles on end; what did I expect?

I love hiking, but Wild did NOT inspire me to try anything like this. I don't want a Monster on my back and my feet are already a mess from running. I've lost toenails and I enjoy clean hair too much to go days, let alone weeks, without a shower. More power to those who can and call it fun!

brynnma's review against another edition

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3.0

The author is often hard to empathize with. Her mom died so she cheated on her husband and took up heroin? Sure. I liked her attitude tackling the trail, her unwillingness to give in to narratives of female vulnerability and victim hood. And there were interesting details about long distance trekking. Overall disappointing.

theresaha's review against another edition

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4.0

Perfect beginning of summer read.

deblaroche's review against another edition

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5.0

This book totally made me want to a)go on a hike and b)make friends with the people she met on the trail. I am positively jealous of her writing ability...jumping from the past to present seamlessly, making the effort of the hike come to life, and conveying the profound lessons she learned in a way that was not cheesy or Hallmark-y at all. Read this book. And then go outside.

kate_andpolly's review against another edition

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2.0

I made the bad decision to watch the movie before finishing the book. I have about 150 pages left- and very little motivation to finish. I found myself getting bored throughout the middle of the book- and now that I know how it ends, what else is there?

cmknotts's review against another edition

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5.0

On the surface, this book is about a lost woman, taking a journey through the wilderness, in the hopes of finding herself somewhere out there. In truth, it is about all of us, all of our own journeys, and the universal pain we all share, regardless of the specific skin our own suffering is wrapped in.

Cheryl Strayed tells a beautiful, personal story about her life derailed with the loss of her relationship, the death of her mother, her spiral downward into drug abuse, and her scramble out of this pit through a backpacking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail. Yet, even though most of us have not traversed these same valleys, I found myself knowing this space (she was in) intimately, and having the same yearning to hike out of it to my own freedom.

This is a story I’d read over and over again

telsberry's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a captivating story of a woman who randomly did what many of us wouldn't dream! Very interesting and connecting on many human levels!

elaryen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

4.0

gmilbourne's review against another edition

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5.0

Really great book that I always looked forward to getting back to!