Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will.
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| Personality web (I made it) |
I chose to do my book report on Cheryl Strayed because I am fascinated by people who choose to face nature. It is a wonderful thing. When I am older, I hope to hike a long trail, maybe on the coast of Canada. I also chose an autobiography because biographies can miss important information that only the person that the book is about will know. The book is full of great information in all 311 pages. In the novel, Cheryl hikes for three months, but the events that lead up to her hike happen the year before. Wild was published in 2012, by Vintage Books, a division of Random House. She is not only known for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, as she has written many more books as she has grown older. Cheryl wrote the book based on her journals she wrote on the trail. She also grew up surviving in nature.
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| Cheryl Strayed (I drew it) |
Cheryl Strayed was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania. Her original name was Cheryl Nyland. When she got married, her name was changed to Cheryl Littig. After her hike, she legally changed her last name to Strayed. When she was five, she moved to Chaska, Minnesota. At thirteen, she moved to Aitkin County with her mother, stepfather, brother and sister. Her family built a house on a 40 acre property. The went without electricity or running water for the first few years. After Cheryl went to college, they finally installed indoor plumbing. Her mother's name was Bobbi Anne Nyland. Her father was named Ronald, and her parents got divorced because Ronald was an abusive husband and father. Eventually, Cheryl, her siblings, and mother moved away for good. After a while, Bobbi married Glenn Lambrecht and they built a house together. Cheryl lived in nature, and that is probably why she chose to hike the PCT. Cheryl graduated from McGregor High School in 1986 at age 17. In her freshman year, she went to the University of St. Thomas. in her sophomore year, she moved to the University of Minnesota. Cheryl loved to go horseback riding in her free time with her mother. She had no idea what she was going to be when she grew up, at least not in the book. I think she dreamed of having a perfect family when she was younger.
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| The hike (I drew it) |
The main challenge in her life was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. That is the main thing the book is about and something that changed her life forever. The reason she hiked the trail was because her mother passed away from cancer, at a young age of 43 years. Cheryl was only 21 when this happened. She started writing journals during her trip, and that is what led up to her writing Wild. Also, that was the first sign of what inspired her to be the author she is today. She struggled over the three-month time period of which she was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Her struggles seem unbearable, in a way. Even so, she pulled through. About halfway through the hike, she wanted to quit. The year that she decided to hike the PCT, it was a record snow year in the High Sierra Nevadas. In the end, she convinced herself not to. She was determined to finish. Instead, she bypassed the area and added a few hundred miles at the end of her hike to make up for the miles that she bypassed. Being the brave person she is, Cheryl hiked the 1100 miles alone. She encountered many animals, such as a fox, bears, and even a Texas longhorned bull who actually charged her and damaged nothing more than her finger. She also encountered many people. She changed all the names in the book, so it's impossible to know what their real names were. Everyone she encountered on her trip was extremely friendly, though she ran into some intimidating people. They ended up being rather friendly. Her challenges she went through in her early life were much worse, emotionally at least, than the trail. Cheryl and her siblings had a poor relationship with their father. He was violent, and whenever the children and their mother left, somehow, they always came back. Except for the last time, when they left for good.
Cheryl was the only woman hiking alone that most of the people she encountered had ever heard of.
These are a few questions I would ask Cheryl if I ever met her:
- How would you describe the feeling you had when you returned home after the hike?
- Did you see anything that inspired you when you were hiking?
- Did you hike anymore in your later life?
I would find it interesting to be Cheryl's child because she inspired me, and someone with experience with nature would mean that their advice would be amazing. I loved this book, and it made me want to read more non-fiction books because when I read them, I know that what's happening is actually possible. The details were great, it was like I was seeing what she saw throughout the book. I learned that when you are determined and brave enough, you can do almost anything. I know that when you are feeling discouraged, you just want to give up with all your heart. If you dig deeper, though, you will find that there is a part of you that stops the rest. That is what happens in most cases, but most people ignore it and give up anyway. That is one of the things that make her special.
This book is not appropriate for all ages, as it is an adult oriented book. Some people may find it boring at the beginning because she talks about what led up to her trip on the PCT. I am very happy I chose to read Wild because Cheryl is very inspiring to me. I love how she would never let herself down, and she was strong in the most difficult situations. I look up to her as a person I want to be more like. She was so, so brave, and that is how I want to be.
Page created on 2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM
Extra Info
Movie, Wild with Reese Witherspoon
