Wild is a compelling autobiographic story about a young woman who wants to change her life for the better and decides to walk the Pacific Crest Trail. Although with no experience, she manages to complete the trail, but not without big challenges, dark days and a lot of pain.
I wanted to read this story for a while now. To be honest, I was hugely prejudiced by the book “Into the Wild” by John Krakauer, which I read a few years ago. But this book – even though it shares some similarities- is in many aspects different. Luckily because Into the Wild is quite tragic. Wild is a book written by a woman who shares her story with us. She does that in a very witty and honest way that urges the reader to want to know what happened, and not only the ending but her whole journey as well. Besides the smooth conversations, Sheryl didn’t filter out her pain, loss and moments of total despair. She balances light moments with dark moments in a way it never becomes boring. As far as the ending is concerned… I strongly recommend you to read this book, hence the five stars!
Wild by Cheryl Strayed is one of the best books I have read so far and I probably will read it again anytime soon. This book is perfect if you seek some (literary speaking) adventure, acknowledging someone hitting rock bottom and becoming stronger than ever, hilarious situations and much more.
If I would classify the genre of this book I would definitely consider it putting into the category of the adventure books as well as into the category of self-development.
Laura van Cutsem 