Love the title, “Wild” have always been partial to one word titles and
Wild is such a power word and when you get into the story and discover that it
is a double entendre, even better.
Wild connotes adventure; that challenge is afoot, which grabs the
collar and yanks you in.
I saw the movie before I read the book and loved everything about the
movie from the multi-layered script and storytelling to Reese Witherspoon’s evocative,
passionate performance.
I went straight from the theatre to the library and ordered not only Wild,
but Torch, her first novel which arrived before Wild. I would not
change the order of my exposure to Strayed’s story-telling. It was spot on.
1.
Seeing the memoir,
Wild, on film.
2.
Reading Torch, the novel loosely based on
her mother’s death
3.
Reading the
actual memoir of her trials and tribulations on the PCT.
Strayed backpacks 1100 miles to heal from losing her mother. She was
only 22 when her mother, only 45, a vegetarian and non-smoker was diagnosed
with 4th stage lung cancer.
In Strayed’s own words:
And then there was the real live truly doing it. In spite of bears and
the rattlesnakes and the scat of mountain lions I never saw; the blisters and
scabs and scrapes
And lacerations. The exhaustion and the deprivation; the cold and the
heat; the monotony and the pain; the thirst and the hunger; the glory and the
ghosts that haunted me as I hiked eleven hundred miles from the Mojave Desert
to the state of Washington by myself.
And finally, once I’d actually gone and done it…in truth my hike on the
Pacific Crest Trail…had begun…precisely f our years, seven months, and three
days before, when
I stood in a little room at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota,
and learned that my mother was going to die.
Strayed writes with just the right tension to keep you turning the
page, even staying up late to finish a chapter before turning off the light.
I have been a day hiker most of my life. I have hiked up Mt. St. Helens
a dozen times and spend summers hiking the Columbia River Gorge (with comrades)
every chance I get. I have no desire to expose myself to the suffering Strayed
endured, I admire her endeavor tremendously, however, hiking alone in the wilderness even for a few
hours could have ended in tragedy!
My thoughts were that she must have had an angel on her shoulder. She
had no protection put pepper spray and a loud whistle. Now that is gutsy! If
she had not made it back, the News would have reported the venture as foolhardy…That
aside, I highly recommend Wild as a riveting great read without any
other reservation. Cheryl Strayed deserves all the accolades her story has brought her. I am looking forward to reading
what she brings to the world next!
Raintreepoet, reporting
