Ease in the reader = blood, sweat and tears in the writer. Literally, in this case.
This is an effortless, breeze of a read that tells the story of the author's arduous physical journey on the Pacific Crest Trail (she hiked a great deal of California and across all of Oregon) and her mental trek over the loss of her mother.
It is not an ornate or lyrical book, but it is well told and thoughtful.
The point of view is atypical of outdoorsy nonfiction. This is not an authoritative hiker-to-hiker book, a mildly humorous adventure tale, or an explanation of the Pacific Crest Trail as told by an avid outdoorsman, Eagle Scout, or gutsy broad.
It's the story of a troubled woman in her 20s with a messy life on an ill-advised trip for which she is grossly unprepared. If Strayed had written the book immediately after finishing the hike, it may not have been worth reading.
What makes it valuable is the reflection author Cheryl Strayed has done since the journey and the painstaking effort she has put into structuring her tale.
It is, uniquely, a young woman's guidebook on the nature of loss and healing.
Pairs well with: Books by adventurer — and gutsy broad — Helen Thayer including Walking the Gobi: A 1,600-Mile Trek Across a Desert of Hope and Despair and Polar Dream: The First Solo Expedition by a Woman and Her Dog to the Magnetic North Pole.
Read this, not that: Midway into A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail author Bill Bryson quits his hike and proceeds to lecture about the history of the trail whilst driving beside it. He begins his journey after being commissioned to write about hiking the trail and offers no reflection. Advantage: Wild.
Notable: Strayed does include some interesting facts about the Pacific Crest Trail including that Catherine Montgomery at the State Normal School (now Western Washington University) in Bellingham, Wash. is (sometimes) credited with first proposing the trail.
Writers read this for: a good example of memoir, a contained story, a focus on the telling details of a life as it relates to a particular story and themes
Personal note: my Auntie who lives in Truckee near the Pacific Crest Trail sent me an autographed copy of Wild — a lovely surprise!
This is an effortless, breeze of a read that tells the story of the author's arduous physical journey on the Pacific Crest Trail (she hiked a great deal of California and across all of Oregon) and her mental trek over the loss of her mother.
It is not an ornate or lyrical book, but it is well told and thoughtful.
The point of view is atypical of outdoorsy nonfiction. This is not an authoritative hiker-to-hiker book, a mildly humorous adventure tale, or an explanation of the Pacific Crest Trail as told by an avid outdoorsman, Eagle Scout, or gutsy broad.
It's the story of a troubled woman in her 20s with a messy life on an ill-advised trip for which she is grossly unprepared. If Strayed had written the book immediately after finishing the hike, it may not have been worth reading.
What makes it valuable is the reflection author Cheryl Strayed has done since the journey and the painstaking effort she has put into structuring her tale.
It is, uniquely, a young woman's guidebook on the nature of loss and healing.
Pairs well with: Books by adventurer — and gutsy broad — Helen Thayer including Walking the Gobi: A 1,600-Mile Trek Across a Desert of Hope and Despair and Polar Dream: The First Solo Expedition by a Woman and Her Dog to the Magnetic North Pole.
Read this, not that: Midway into A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail author Bill Bryson quits his hike and proceeds to lecture about the history of the trail whilst driving beside it. He begins his journey after being commissioned to write about hiking the trail and offers no reflection. Advantage: Wild.
Notable: Strayed does include some interesting facts about the Pacific Crest Trail including that Catherine Montgomery at the State Normal School (now Western Washington University) in Bellingham, Wash. is (sometimes) credited with first proposing the trail.
Writers read this for: a good example of memoir, a contained story, a focus on the telling details of a life as it relates to a particular story and themes
Personal note: my Auntie who lives in Truckee near the Pacific Crest Trail sent me an autographed copy of Wild — a lovely surprise!
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