I had thought about picking up this book after the movie came out. I’m always one who wants to read the book before seeing the movie, and I had heard good things about the movie. However, I never really got around to it, until now. Wild is based in the authors travels on the Pacific Crest Trail. This is a trail that goes from Mexico to Canada. Cheryl hikes a good portion of it, starting in the Mojave desert.
What caused Cheryl to want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail? She came upon a guide book about the trail at a store, and just happened to pick it up. Yet, she believes her true journey to the Pacific Crest trail began years early, after her mother was diagnosed with cancer, and died shortly after her diagnosis. After her mother’s death, she and her siblings lost contact. She began to have troubles in her marriage, that eventually led to divorce. She also began using heroin with a guy she was seeing.
She began the Pacific Crest Trail as a way to find herself again, traveling alone. She prepped for months, slowly buying all the materials that she would need, and even taking in the suggestions of the sales person as they described each product that she needed to buy. She even consulted the guide book to see what to expect and to read about others experiences on the trail, bringing this guide book with her.
I like how the author weaved her past into the book through the memories brought back by either people that she met along the trail or through her own thoughts. You can see through this what brought her to the place she was in her life.