Cheryl’s journey of self discovery on the PCT presented many challenges both
physically and emotionally for the author. She faces her demons and overcomes
many obstacles alone in the wilderness. Wild vividly captures the terrors and
pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that
maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.
COMMENTS
We talked about the traumas we’ve had in our own lives and
how we’ve worked through them. We
agreed that the resulting trauma when you have strong ties within a family
and/or community is different than when you don’t have a support system.
1. “The Pacific Crest Trail wasn’t a world to me then. It was an idea, vague and outlandish, full of promise and mystery. Something bloomed inside me as I traced its jagged line with my finger on a map” (p. 4). Why did the PCT capture Strayed’s imagination at that point in her life? (Has anything ever captured you in this way?)
- It's a wonderful story of personal redemption,
reflection and adventure.
- She was already self-destructive and this was just another
thing on the path.
- She wanted to punish herself.
- She wanted to punish herself.
- She wanted to challenge herself.
2. Each section of the book opens with a literary quote or two. What do they tell you about what’s to come in the pages that follow? How does Strayed’s pairing of, say, Adrienne Rich and Joni Mitchell (p. 45) provide insight into her way of thinking? (What did you think about how this was captured in the film?)
- “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
- First she “strayed” and then she “found” her path. Here is
an interview with the author:
- The songs may also have been her mother’s favorites.
3. Strayed is quite forthright in her description of her own transgressions, and while she’s remorseful, she never seems ashamed. Is this a sign of strength or a character flaw? (What did you think of Reese Witherspoon's portrayal - Did she capture Strayed's unabashedness?)
- Upon first read, she was intent on the hike itself, and at the second reading, it was easier to focus on the reasons Cheryl took the hike.
3. Strayed is quite forthright in her description of her own transgressions, and while she’s remorseful, she never seems ashamed. Is this a sign of strength or a character flaw? (What did you think of Reese Witherspoon's portrayal - Did she capture Strayed's unabashedness?)
- Upon first read, she was intent on the hike itself, and at the second reading, it was easier to focus on the reasons Cheryl took the hike.
- Reese Witherspoon really captured Cheryl’s lack of shame.
- Witherspoon (or the Director) also captured the most
important events from the book, while focusing on emotions of the main
character which made the movie an easier way to connect with the character’s
feelings for some.
4. “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told” (p. 51). Fear is a major theme in the book. Do you think Strayed was too afraid, or not afraid enough? When were you most afraid for her? (Did it differ from when you felt it in the movie?)
- She seems extremely courageous.
- Don’t think she was afraid of PCT, but she was afraid of
life without her mother or husband or brother.
- She confronted the fear of loneliness by being alone.
5. Strayed chose her own last name: “Nothing fit until one day when the word strayed came into my mind. Immediately, I looked it up in the dictionary and knew it was mine: to wander from the proper path, to deviate from the direct course, to be lost, to become wild, to be without a mother or father, to be without a home, to move about aimlessly in search of something, to diverge or digress” (p. 96). Did she choose well? What did you think when you learned she had assigned this word to herself—that it was no coincidence?
5. Strayed chose her own last name: “Nothing fit until one day when the word strayed came into my mind. Immediately, I looked it up in the dictionary and knew it was mine: to wander from the proper path, to deviate from the direct course, to be lost, to become wild, to be without a mother or father, to be without a home, to move about aimlessly in search of something, to diverge or digress” (p. 96). Did she choose well? What did you think when you learned she had assigned this word to herself—that it was no coincidence?
- If we had done all that rotten stuff, then maybe we would
want to change our name, too!
- She didn’t want to drag her mother’s name through the mud.
6. On the trail, Strayed encounters mostly men. How does this work in her favor? What role does gender play when removed from the usual structure of society?
6. On the trail, Strayed encounters mostly men. How does this work in her favor? What role does gender play when removed from the usual structure of society?
- She didn’t know they danger she was putting herself in.
- Because she was young, blond, and white, she may have
carried some “privilege” with her and people actually reached out to help her.
7. What does the reader learn from the horrific episode in which Strayed and her brother put down their mother’s horse? (What did you think of how this was depicted in the motion picture?)
- Even her mother wanted to ride her horse (a symbol of nature) for as long as she could.
8. Strayed writes that the point of the PCT “had only to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets” (p. 207). How does this sensation help Strayed to find her way back into the world beyond the wilderness?
7. What does the reader learn from the horrific episode in which Strayed and her brother put down their mother’s horse? (What did you think of how this was depicted in the motion picture?)
- Even her mother wanted to ride her horse (a symbol of nature) for as long as she could.
8. Strayed writes that the point of the PCT “had only to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets” (p. 207). How does this sensation help Strayed to find her way back into the world beyond the wilderness?
- This is so interesting! Several of the people in the group answered similarly when
asked, “What helps you back after trauma,” answered things that had to do with
nature (walks, woods, camping).
9. On her journey, Strayed carries several totems. What does the black feather mean to her? And the POW bracelet? Why does she find its loss (p. 238) symbolic?
- None of us could remember a single totem from the book. Guess they just didn’t hold the same meaning for us, as readers.
10. Strayed says her mother’s death “had obliterated me… I was trapped by her but utterly alone. She would always be the empty bowl that no one could fill” (p 267). How did being on the PCT on her mother’s fiftieth birthday help Strayed to heal this wound?
- Nature has a very healing quality.
11. What was it about Strayed that inspired the generosity
of so many strangers on the PCT? (Do you think this would be the case for
"any" woman on the trail?)
- Can you imagine if it was a black man? He probably wouldn’t get much help.
- Can you imagine if it was a black man? He probably wouldn’t get much help.
12. What role do books and reading play in this often solitary journey? (Do you feel the movie captured this?)
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is also an adventure and a quest .
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