Introduction
The book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, or briefly Wild, is written by American writer Cheryl Strayed in the memoir genre. She describes her trip through the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which served as a healing journey after the trauma of losing a beloved person. Along with experiencing grief, memoirs raise topics and issues of solitude, the healing power of nature, courage, motherhood, and even feminism. The book, released in 2012, 17 years after the trip, became a bestseller and won widespread critiques acclaim (Cheryl Strayed). Even though Strayed’s story significantly reveals the substantial emotional distress and thereby inspires not to give up experiencing grief, some parts of the audience may consider it boring and the author – too impulsive.
Summary
The memoirs present the journey that the writer made in 1995, simultaneously revealing earlier events, traumas, and experiences that led her to PCT in the form of flashbacks and memories. Strayed grows up surrounded by the love of her mother, Barbara (Bobbi). Her father leaves the family when the writer is 6, her mother dies due to cancer when Strayed is 22, and after that, her stepfather also cuts ties (Strayed 10). After such stressful events, the woman cannot cope with the grief that manifests in her deviant behavior and negatively affects life. Strayed does not graduate from college, begins to cheat on her husband, although she loves him, and subsequently divorces. Moreover, in a relationship with one of her lovers, a young woman takes heroin and finds out she is pregnant.
Realizing that the grief has sunk her, Strayed learns about PCT and decides to make the journey hoping for emotional healing and has an abortion before the trip. She travels alone, which is quite unusual and challenging for PCT. The writer’s inexperience manifests from the very beginning – a backpack, which she calls the Monster, is too heavy, and small boots hurt her legs. Moreover, snow blockages, fast-ending supplies, and fear are also becoming significant obstacles. However, Strayed meets many friendly and interesting people who help her and admire the writer’s courage on her way. Physical pain distracts from sad memories and returns the young woman to the present. Having achieved the goal of her path, she feels stronger and transformed and admits to readers that she will have a happy marriage and two children in the future.
Based on the plot, the central theme of the memoirs is healing and moving forward after a heavy loss. Therefore, the book’s primary target audience is people who had complex emotional experiences and difficulties returning to everyday life. Moreover, the book will be especially interesting for women as it draws attention to the strength and opportunities of women who are less represented in such journeys. The author is also largely focused on thinking about her sexuality and female attractiveness. Nevertheless, Strayed’s goal is still to show by her example that healing after emotional trauma is possible. Her central thesis is that although life is complicated and full of deprivation, it is crucial to concentrate on its good sides, accept the world as it is and enjoy it.
Analysis
The book describes the early years of the writer’s life, but it was written much later when Strayed gained broader professional experiences. In her career, there are also other books besides Wild, many essays published in various magazines, and her work as a podcast host (Cheryl Strayed). The writer finds it essential to present some stories from her life as Wild to tell the audience some vital ideas (Cheryl Strayed). In her memoirs, she wants to share the conclusion that people’s lives are valuable and sacred, and it is important to appreciate them: “It was my life – like all lives, mysterious and irrevocable and sacred. So very close, so very present, so very belonging to me” (Strayed 310). As evidence of this conclusion, she describes the traveling experience, where nature and solitude allowed her to understand the value of life.
The author makes her analysis through the experience description, search for causal relationships, and reflection. For example, when discussing the trip, she clearly understands what events led her to this decision and reflects on everything that happened to her. The memoirs represent the positive side of Strayed’s decision – healing. However, it is worth considering that an alternative interpretation of the journey is an escape from emotions and a distraction from the inability to cope with problems. The spontaneity of the journey and the writer’s unpreparedness for it speak in favor of this assumption. Even information about how Strayed bought and prepared equipment that she does not know how to use and the supplies that her friend sent her missed creates some contradictions.
Evaluation
The plot of the book Wild gradually describes experience and deprivation, which leads the author to conclude the value of life despite its difficulties. Since the memoirs are descriptions of personal life, the author achieved her goal – she demonstrated in detail and openly how she came to this conclusion. However, her opinion and readers’ impression are subjective, and for this reason, the book cannot be equally convincing for everyone. Strayed’s evidence is her personal experience, which she tried to convey impartially and accurately using her diaries, memories, and testimonies of acquaintances (Cheryl Strayed). Since much time has passed between the journey and the book’s release, some distortion of memories is possible.
The writer wisely chose the structure, organization, and tone for the book. The story comes in the first person, and the narrator describes her trip, sometimes interrupting it with a retrospective – her memories. The tone depends on the episode described – the author is angry and sometimes confused with obstacles on the path, and memories are more often filled with grief, but Strayed generally shows stubbornness and resilience.
Openness in describing emotions and experiences, even the most intimate, a sense of hope, and the story’s message are its strengths. However, the book may disappoint those who expect more description of nature or Trails. Moreover, a strong focus on the author’s sexual experiences, potential escape, and careless attitude in preparing for such a difficult trip, may seem inappropriate and create an image of the frivolous and impulsive woman. For this reason, the book will be interesting for readers who are ready to appreciate the emotionality of the main character and are not looking for an adventure travel novel.
Conclusion
Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a writer’s memoir about the early years of her life and healing trauma through a Pacific Crest Trail trip. Having lost her beloved mother, the young woman cannot cope with the grief, which entailed problems in her life – divorce, erratic sexual relations, and even drugs. Strayed decides to go on a trip hoping for healing, but since she is not prepared for it, she faces many obstacles, which complicate her path. Nevertheless, she achieves the goal, becomes more robust, and realizes the value of life. The writer chose a successful structure for the book – the story of the journey alternates with the memories that led to it. The memoirs mainly focus on the author’s emotions, and experiences of grief and not the journey itself, which may disappoint some readers. However, Strayed gives an important message in her story, which can be valuable to the audience.
Works Cited
Cheryl Strayed Official Website.
Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.