I’ve been a little slow to start on my reading challenges for 2016, let alone finding time to write more than one sentence at a time. Call me distracted, I’ve been working on a cross-stitch of Iron Man, an American Flag full size crochet quilt, trying (and failing) to launch a handicrafts store, Leslie A Curry-Handicrafts, Crochet, and Mosaic, and trying to manage a chaotic phase of life. What better way to multi-task while reading than to use an audiobook? Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed had been highly recommended by one of my girlfriends a couple of years ago, so when it was available through my public library’s electronic catalog, I decided it was time to give it a go.

Why this book and why now:
I started listening to this Wild (315 pages) as a distraction during a dental appointment for a crown prep. A few minutes in, and I wasn’t sure it was the right choice. Graphic detailing of toenails falling off didn’t help much to distract me from the pain and discomfort of the drilling happening in my mouth.

The story of Cheryl’s relationship with her mother and the process of losing her pulled me in for what I anticipated to be a much different story. Many of the details of this book have left me since I read it back in January, but much of what I remember has to do with Cheryl making one mind-boggling decision after another in regards to her personal safety. I understand that Cheryl was dealing with depression and perhaps some PTSD after her childhood experiences. I wish more of the book and self exploration acknowledged these traumas. Instead, Cheryl continued to put herself in one dangerous situation after another without drawing any understanding to the idea that she was actually perhaps suffering from some very big emotional issues. I was mystified that while waiting for a DJ she just met at a random club to get off work for their “date” that she willingly went into a strange man’s van to smoke weed. After which she traipses off with the DJ to his house way out in the middle of nowhere to hopefully have sex. All the while, no one knew where she was or who she was going with. This is after she dabbled with heroine or meth after leaving her self-admitted very good husband.

I understand that everyone’s personal journey is different and that the ways we each cope with stress, anxiety, depression, joy, fear, you name it, can be expressed or experienced in absolute contradiction to how another copes. I wish for Cheryl, that she had had someone who would have helped her find a safer way to deal with her mother’s death and need for self discovery. I’m still trying to understand why Cheryl felt it was acceptable to cause her body so much harm and pain in forcing her way through the PCT. Many of her stories in the book graphically describe her feet that were mangled, scabs and bruises that took weeks to heal, drastic dehydration. This is not heroic in my opinion, this is self-mutilation.

I am glad for Cheryl’s sake that her story has a peaceful ending. I’m grateful that for all the seedy situations she put herself in, she walked away unharmed by another human during her trek.

Recommended reading for:
This is not a book I would recommend, however, if you are looking for a memoir about a young woman who is able to come out the other side of some questionable choices, then you might want to give this one a try. I’d recommend two books on a similar topic before this one: The Glass Castle: a Memoir by Jeanette Walls or The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

The final word:
I’m certainly glad I experienced Wild as an audiobook. Had I been reading it in book form, I am almost certain it would have been added to my “won’t ever finish” list on goodreads.