A memoir by 25 year old woman who hikes the Pacific Crest Trail all alone with an unbelievably heavy pack and no preparation, supposedly as a catharsis or healing from the loss of her mother, to get over drug addicions, possible sex addictions, and to learn something. I'm not sure she healed during the trip since she was very promiscuous and did whatever drugs were offered to her on the trail. I don't know if I believe her claims of superhuman strength, but a good read nevertheless. We had a great book club discussion.

I really liked this book. I thought it was interesting and well written. I also thought it was an honest recollection of her experience. Some in my club thought she was whiny and irresponsible for being so ill prepared for her trip, but I thought she was just young and had no guidance. She wanted to do one thing that would help define her and change her and she did it.

One of my book clubs read this, otherwise I would never have finished it. Thought the whole thing was somewhat naïve and I never did really get the "message." I'm sure a reader could come up with one/some: finding yourself, adventure, coming of age--but nothing was completely addressed.

Our discusion was good and for the most part we enjoyed various aspects of this book. It was the PCT trek that was the most interesting. A couple people in our group felt stronly that made up some to the incidents an the trail, which just led to a lively discussion.

Totally enjoyed this hiking adventure, loved seeing how she handled the trip and wondering if I could do the same. Made for good group discussion

Well written memoir of a specific time in the author's life and what led to her decision to tackle such a difficult adventure. I felt I was hiking the trail right along with her.

Nonfiction. Author treks 1100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail to face her inner strengths and weaknesses and ultimately to set the course for the remainder of her life.

A good read...can get a bit repetitive at parts. But interesting description of both the personal and physical journey.

It was interesting to hear her pass through the places I am familiar with. She seems a little crazy and self-serving to me. I\'m glad that she thinks she found herself

This was a great book interesting and inspirational. It led to some great discussion regarding the physical challenges in the story, the risk for women in attempting such a challenge on the road alone, and the sense of personal accomplishment.

Felt like I was hiking with her. Very insightful.

Cheryl Strayed seemed to share her experiences from a place of authenticity. The angst I felt during some of the challenges resolved each time as she forged ahead with new knowledge & realizations. Inspiring book for those that limit what they are capable of learning and doing. (Myself included...)

This is a book that takes one emotionally wrecked woman and through her 1,100 mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail, takes her to a place where she has dealt with her pain and anger. She doesn't start out perfect and she doesn't end up perfect, but she tells the story of her journey with honesty and wit.

This book kept me interested from beginning to end. Everyone in our book club really enjoyed it. There are a lot of parallels between her adventure on the PCT and her emotional and physical life prior. Very entertaining.

Interesting reading through the author\\\'s psychological journey--but I was even more interested in her geographical journey. Would recommend as a read, but take it all with a grain of salt. Remember, this is a woman who was in a downward spiral and it\\\'s her recollection of the time after the fact. Loved reading about her journey along the Pacific Crest Trail and the people that she met and built relationships with.

As the reader you are transported on a personal journey with the author, which is both arduous and spiritual. The amount of learning that happens as you make the long hike with Cheryl Strayed is an added bonus to reading her story.

At the beginning this woman seems like a loser but by the end she has grown and you want to know more.

I wanted to hear more about the journey she was going through in her head versus her sex and drug thoughts.

The group had a great time discussing this book.

While I enjoyed the writing and thought it was well written, I could not relate to the woman.
When I got halfway through it and they couldn't even put the old horse down humanely... I closed the book and gave it away.

Interesting account of experience on PCT but none of us would have ever done that alone and as unprepared as sh was!

Our group really enjoyed this story and most found her journey to be very inspiring.

I found this book uninspiring which I thought it would be. I expected more of her travels on the trail and less her attraction to guys she met on the trail.

An interesting read that lead to many great discussions.

I found this book fascinating in the actual trek but more so in the psychological aspect of her story. This was about hitting rock bottom and clawing your way back to the top, not just a hiking adventure... Although it was that too. It was a life adventure and how, sometimes, to survive, the human spirit must be broken down completely before it can take shape again.

we had a good discussion after reading this book.

It was interesting but yet I do not think she was really prepared for the trip.

In the autobiography, you feel you are right there with Cheryl on the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl tells her story of hiking the trail for several months as she strives just to survive the aches and pains of the trail, as she learns to move past the aches and pains of her life following the death of her mother and the disintegration of her family and marriage. She engages in some behaviors that could have been very self destructive, but her time on the trail leads to the birth of a new person who discovers she is courageous and tough. I really enjoyed her journey.

I enjoyed the book. I LOVED meeting the author! She is wonderful and made me want to read her other books. Cheryl was great.

This book was interesting, in that it was the unapologetic account of one woman's journey in life and on the Pacific Crest Trail. Not everyone agreed with, or understood, Cheryl's choices/behavior, but that just made our conversation about it more interesting!

We all seemed to enjoy this story of a walk on the PCT, but everyone agreed that Cheryl was woefully under prepared! Still, she made it through and came out a better person at the end.

Our book club mostly enjoyed the book. Couldn't figure out why she was such a loner. Lived on the bare essentials.
Was a little reparative about her mother. Seems she hard a hard time with that. Guess her mother had been her support for many years.
Did have a good ending. She married and had children

When this book first came out I thought about reading it, but was turned off by Strayed's lack of training for her hike. Then it was chosen for my bookclub, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it really wasn't too bad. Yes, the beginning made me want to throw it across the room, and she continued to make some questionable choices throughout, but once she started to meet people on the trail, becoming a better hiker along the way, it became more interesting. It's actually the PCT and those who hike it I found most interesting, and I wanted to learn more about what's like to hike now since Strayed's hike took place in 1995. Strayed intersperses stories from her past with her account of hiking the trail giving the reader a deeper understanding of what lead her to the trail. There were several times I was surprised by her lack of emotion or thought about certain weighty subjects while she ruminated for hours on others. Overall it's a good discussion book.

"There's no way to know what makes one thing happen & not another. What leads to what. What destroys what. What causes What to flourish or die or take another course."

Such a powerful story of love, & loss, & redemption. Of coming into one's own & finding one's power, peace & presence. Cheryl Strayed writes beautifully about her journey not sanitizing or prettying up her flaws. Her time on the Pacific Crest Trail is eloquently detailed in a simple, elegant way. Her story of hope & healing is an inspiration & a reminder that life brings us all sorts of circumstances & lessons, & that we can not only live through them, but grow & thrive.