Log #5

Wild

     This is a story about a woman, Cheryl Strayed. She hiked for 1100 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail alone. She began from  the Mojave Desert and hiking through California and Oregon to the Bridge of the Gods into Washington. The book also contains flashbacks to prior life occurrences that led her to begin her journey.

     Why she chose to go on this journey is because. At age 22, she had been devastated by the lung cancer death of her mother at 45. Her stepfather disengaged from Strayed's family, and her brother and sister remained distant. She started using heroin, and eventually she and her husband divorced. Therefore, she started to seek self-discovery and resolution of her enduring grief and personal challenges. Finally, at age 26 she set out on her journey, alone and with no prior hiking experience. 

     This book intertwines the stories of her life before and during the journey, describing her physical challenges and spiritual realizations while on the trail.