Wild

Cheryl Stayed's life is in shambles. Her mother has died, her marriage is ending, her finances are dwindling, and she is making terrible life decisions. She is totally and completely lost, and she is headed down the wrong path. In a desperate attempt to gain control of her life, she decides to do something drastic and hike 1,200 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone.

With little hiking experience, she sets out on a journey of self-discovery through a challenging physical expedition into the wilderness. WILD is the fascinating account of Strayed's excursion. Not only does she face the physically demanding elements of nature, but she also tackles the emotional baggage that has weighed her down for years. I was amazed by her courage to leave alone and complete the hike despite her challenges. I applaud her resilience and determination to change her life for the better. It is a very inspiring book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe and built her back up again. At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything when her mother died young of cancer. Her family scattered in their grief, her marriage was soon destroyed, and slowly her life spun out of control.

Four years after her mother's death, with nothing more to lose, Strayed made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker--indeed, she'd never gone backpacking before her first night on the trail.

Her trek was little more than "an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise." But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone. Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and intense loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

1. "The Pacific Crest Trail wasn't a world to me then..." Why did the PCT capture Strayed's imagination at that point in her life?

2. How do the literary quotes at the beginning of each section reflect the themes within?

3. Strayed is forthright about her transgressions-does this make her stronger or flawed?

4. Strayed states: "Fear... is born of a story we tell ourselves..." When was fear most present in her journey?

5. What does the name "Strayed" symbolize in her personal transformation?

6. What role does gender play on the trail and how does it shift from traditional society?

7. What does the episode with her mother's horse reveal about her grief?

8. How do the natural surroundings help her reconnect with herself?

9. What do the black feather and POW bracelet represent? Why is their loss significant?

10. Does her trek help her get over Paul? How or why not?

11. How did hiking on her mother's birthday aid her healing process?

12. Why are strangers kind to Strayed? What does this say about people?

13. How does her reflection on Eddie shape her view of him?

14. Why does she burn the books? Why not Adrienne Rich's collection?

15. What role do books play in this journey?