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Miranda Reads's Reviews > Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
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by
Alternate title: How to be a Compete Idiot: Hiking Edition
Cheryl goes off on a bender shortly after her mother passes.
She ruins her marriage with repeated adultery and ultimately becoming a knocked-up druggie. Then she aborts the kid and goes hiking.
Yes, you read that right.
She gets on the Pacific Crest Trail as a way to find herself. By getting lost. Oh the irony.
Many, many inspirational quotes have been posted and shared throughout the web thus I will share the two that stood out to me most:
The first one is found during her mother's stay in the hospital and requests for morphine from the male nurse.
This nurse had the unfortunate fashion choice to wear scrubs a little too tight while he was tending her mother (on her death bed).
It felt so wrong on so many levels
The other quote that stood out to me was during a female-empowerment moment.
During which she recalls the control she has over men, despite being dirty, bedraggled and stinky. She is a woman.
She's constantly getting lost, never has the right gear and always is in pain...I wanted to shake her. So much.
Despite going into gory detail about losing her toenails, developing welts and bruises, she plays off being extremely ill-prepared and dumb by jokingly calling herself:
They all treated her kindly - like a badass princess. *coughcough* Mary Sue
I'm glad I read this solely so I could squash my curiosity.
Audiobook Comments
She did not narrate her own autobiography. Pet. Peeve.
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Cheryl goes off on a bender shortly after her mother passes.
She ruins her marriage with repeated adultery and ultimately becoming a knocked-up druggie. Then she aborts the kid and goes hiking.
Yes, you read that right.
She gets on the Pacific Crest Trail as a way to find herself. By getting lost. Oh the irony.
Many, many inspirational quotes have been posted and shared throughout the web thus I will share the two that stood out to me most:
The first one is found during her mother's stay in the hospital and requests for morphine from the male nurse.
Sometimes he gave it to her without a word and sometimes he said no in a voice as soft as his penisFrequently, Cheryl paused the narrative to admire masculine men that she met on the trail or remembered screwing with while married to her husband.
This nurse had the unfortunate fashion choice to wear scrubs a little too tight while he was tending her mother (on her death bed).
It felt so wrong on so many levels
The other quote that stood out to me was during a female-empowerment moment.
During which she recalls the control she has over men, despite being dirty, bedraggled and stinky. She is a woman.
When i was a child of eleven and I felt that prickly rush of power when grown men would turn their heads to look at me, or whisper, or say, "hey pretty baby," just loudly enough that I could hear.Why. Just. Why.
She's constantly getting lost, never has the right gear and always is in pain...I wanted to shake her. So much.
Despite going into gory detail about losing her toenails, developing welts and bruises, she plays off being extremely ill-prepared and dumb by jokingly calling herself:
A big fat idiotThis book tried to make her journey into a positive experience by showing just how much everyone admired and appreciated the work she put into hiking. It was ridiculous.
They all treated her kindly - like a badass princess. *coughcough* Mary Sue
I'm glad I read this solely so I could squash my curiosity.
Audiobook Comments
She did not narrate her own autobiography. Pet. Peeve.
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Reading Progress
December 1, 2017
–
Started Reading
December 1, 2017
– Shelved
December 8, 2017
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 91 (91 new)
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Tammy
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Dec 20, 2017 05:59AM
Great review, Miranda! I wasn’t impressed by this one either.
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Haha, thanks 😊. All that hype just raised my expectations higher and higher... hence the letdown
Miranda,OMG, I could have written this review. Amen, sister!
They don't call it the "Ho Rainforest" for nothin'. Strayed most definitely gives the phrase "tramping down the trail" new meaning.
To David: And yet. . . had the book been well-written, or had I felt as though I had gone through an actual catharsis with her OR had been incredibly funny/entertaining. . . I wouldn't have cared about the "tramping down the trail" part. For me, it was the absence of caring/catharsis and growth COMBINED with disorganized thoughts and writing that was very overrated.
Interesting review! I always appreciate an honest and unenthusiastic take on a book.
Cheryl Strayed has one person in particular to thank for the success of this book: OPRAH. I generally do not follow Oprah's book recommendations as gospel unless the book interests me in general (for instance, I purchased The Reader because I wanted to read it and The Underground Railroad since it was a book club selection for a club I was taking part). I was never in a rush to pick this book up and will definitely not be in a rush after reading your review.
Thank you so much for this review! This is exactly what I was looking for. I was mildly curious about this book because I had a super ditsy friend fall in love with it and swear by it to the point where she decided she was going to follow in Cheryl's footsteps (she only lasted 3 days..) I myself an avid outdoors woman was internally rolling my eyes at the idea of it.. but was still a little curious but I definitely don't think I'll read it now. Seriously thank you for your brutal honesty! I love it!
Josh - it totally makes sense why everyone hyped this book! Enchanted - you should still read it... only because I would love to read a review from your perspective :p this book will have you crazy by the end. This woman loses like 4 toenails cause she didn't buy the right boots! Ridiculous.
Another hyped book that didn't stand up to all the noise, Wild sounded great and I had it on my tbr list for s while. Thak goodness, I never got to it!
Beverly wrote: "Another hyped book that didn't stand up to all the noise, Wild sounded great and I had it on my tbr list for s while. Thak goodness, I never got to it!"Haha, a blessing in disguise :p
I couldn't with this book or the author. She just annoyed the hell out of me like when she was checking out the male nurse's penis. I remember thinking "...Did you want him to have an erection while your mother is in pain and dying?" Like who cares what state his body is in, YOUR MOTHER is in pain Cheryl! Honestly I only finished this book for a book club I was a part of on campus but ended up quitting after they wanted to read another book by this author.
Rachel wrote: "I couldn't with this book or the author. She just annoyed the hell out of me like when she was checking out the male nurse's penis. I remember thinking "...Did you want him to have an erection whil..."I MOTHERFREAKING AGREE. Ugh. I couldn't stand it at all but everyone was like blahblahblah best book ever. I swear, i was this close || to murdering her
Yeah, I had to come on ŷ and find some negative reviews because I was beginning to feel like I was the only person on the planet who hated this book and just pictured the author flipping her hair around and waiting for some guy to show a sexual interest.
Andrea wrote: "Yeah, I had to come on ŷ and find some negative reviews because I was beginning to feel like I was the only person on the planet who hated this book and just pictured the author flipping he..."Oh my gosh. I totally get what you mean. I absolutely love it when I find someone who hates the same book as me. Soul. Sisters.
The way EVERY man was just SO TURNED ON in her presence. ugh. UGH. Incoherent. Rage.
Thank you! I was on the fence about reading this book, and your review has waved me off. Disaster averted!
Glad to be of help :)
This was a huge dud for me too. For all the same reasons!
It is impressive how even through exhaustion and pain all she thinks about is her sex life because who doesn’t want someone that has been walking for days in the same sticky sweaty clothes without a shower or razor anyway.
I can’t decide if your review made me want to kill this with fire or if it made it something I have to read just to experience how terrible it is 😂 great job, Miranda!
Corinna wrote: "This was a huge dud for me too. For all the same reasons!"Woohoo :)
Bleakly wrote: "It is impressive how even through exhaustion and pain all she thinks about is her sex life because who doesn’t want someone that has been walking for days in the same sticky sweaty clothes without ..."I know, right? Ugh ugh ugh
Whitney wrote: "I can’t decide if your review made me want to kill this with fire or if it made it something I have to read just to experience how terrible it is 😂 great job, Miranda!"That's the goal :p
This actually sounds like the kind of book I would hate - I think I'll stay away from this one. Thanks for the review.
I read this book a few years ago for book club and I felt the same. I was ANGRY about the whole book. I still haven’t seen the movie bc of it! I didn’t understand why it received so much praise. I really tried to find a redeeming quality about this woman, and just really couldn’t!
Loved your review. I haven't read this book, though I did read one that was similar and had to really think for a minute to be sure. The funny comments really get me and almost make me want to read it to see what it's all about. But I think I'll save my hard fought for reading time for stuff I really want to read.
♡Kαyleigh� wrote: "This actually sounds like the kind of book I would hate - I think I'll stay away from this one. Thanks for the review."Run, run while you can :p
Leigh-Anne wrote: "I read this book a few years ago for book club and I felt the same. I was ANGRY about the whole book. I still haven’t seen the movie bc of it! I didn’t understand why it received so much praise. I ..."Omg yes! it was so sucky :(
Nicole wrote: "Thank you for your review! Glad I can dodge this bullet!"You're welcome :)
Valerity (Val) wrote: "Loved your review. I haven't read this book, though I did read one that was similar and had to really think for a minute to be sure. The funny comments really get me and almost make me want to read..."what one did you read that was similar?
haha, you're welcome :p
I loved this book. It motivated me to work out for 100 days in a row. I've not worked out since then but that's irrelevant.
LOL - it was totally good for something then :p
Oh man, I remember reading this a while ago (cringes).To me, this book kind of felt like one big humble brag by the author. "Look at me, I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail all by myself! Never mind the fact that I had no idea what I was doing and asked for help from every male specimen I could find. I DID IT!!"
And yes, the whole getting lost thing in order to find herself was extremely ironic indeed.
Great review, Miranda! The quotes you shared helped me understand that this book, for me, is better lost, not found :)
Katherine wrote: "Oh man, I remember reading this a while ago (cringes).To me, this book kind of felt like one big humble brag by the author. "Look at me, I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail all by myself! Never mind ..."
Yes! Humble brag is a perfect way to describe it. I wish i remembered that term when i was writing this one
Julia wrote: "Great review, Miranda! The quotes you shared helped me understand that this book, for me, is better lost, not found :)"I see what you did there! Nicely done :)
Miranda wrote: "Julia wrote: "Great review, Miranda! The quotes you shared helped me understand that this book, for me, is better lost, not found :)"I see what you did there! Nicely done :)"
Tee-hee ;)
Miranda wrote: "Valerity (Val) wrote: "Loved your review. I haven't read this book, though I did read one that was similar and had to really think for a minute to be sure. The funny comments really get me and almo..."I'm not even sure now, I'll have to do some digging to solve that mystery lol. I remember she got Mersa at one point and had to leave the trail to heal and later return. I have memory/brain issues, so it's a struggle at times. I'll get it though.
No worries then! if you think if it, let me know
Manda wrote: "👏❤️"Lol, thank you :)
That 'pretty baby' line is awfully close to something Kim Gordon said once in interview.
Alex wrote: "That 'pretty baby' line is awfully close to something Kim Gordon said once in interview."Never heard of that interview
I'm sooo not surprised. I put this on my tbr shelf out of curiosity, too. But curiosity killed the cat, as they say, and I'm at least a quarter cat... and your review certainly does suggest that this book will kill off at least a quarter of my brain cells, so... everything matches up? You're one of my favourite reviewers, which is to say that I love most of your reviews (all the ones I've read ;) you're intelligent and funny and honest, a stellar combination), but this might be my new favourite (sorry about all the 'u's in the word 'favourite'; I'm Canadian :p)!
