Taya Starling

In 1995 Cheryl Strayed was 26 and a total mess.  The mother she loved & adored had just died of cancer; she sabotaged her own marriage; she was dating a junkie & diving deep into heroin… & she decided to set her life straight by setting out on a 1,100+ mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to northern Oregon.  How that journey shaped her future & what she discovered about her own past is revealed in her memoir “Wild”.  She sets out alone with her enormous backpack, far less prepared for what lies ahead that she could ever anticipate.  And while I’m not much for long elaborate descriptions of nature (I would rather be seeing it for myself), Cheryl Strayed does a fantastic job describing her heart wrenching journey hiking alone on the PCT.  “Wild” is an honest story of one woman confronting her own truths on an often despairing, soul searching trek up, over, & through the unpredictable mountains of America’s west coast.  This is story about breaking down and more importantly this is a story about building yourself back up again.

Cheryl as a child (far left) with her younger brother Leif, older sister Karen, & their mother Bobbi who passed away less than two months after being diagnosed with cancer. I definitely suggest you pick up a copy of “Wild” before the movie comes out later this year with Reese Witherspoon portraying Cheryl Strayed.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book: