Part 1 of Wild by Cheryl Strayed can easily be categorized into three sections: her mother's death, the collapse of her marriage, and preparing to set out on the Pacific Crest Trail.
What are your first impressions of the book? Were you immediately drawn into the author's world or did you find it difficult to get into the reading?
Have there been any passages that struck you as profound or particularly interesting?
Some reviews I read about this book criticized the author's language and sexual descriptions as offensive. What do you think so far?
Share some of your favorites moments as of yet.
I found it rather insightful when Strayed described her youth. Particularly when she talks about sharing her bed 'up north' with her sister Karen and how their heads were just below the skylight with a full view of the stars. I like the way she associates those childhood experiences with her desire to hike the Pacific Crest Trail as a means of returning to the person she used to be.
My heart broke for everybody involved reading about Leif and Karen's absence during their mother's illness, and then again when Strayed was not by her mother's side when she died. Do you think Strayed would have struggled so much after her mom died if she'd been by her side holding her hand rather than off trying to locate Leif?
Do you have any questions about the reading so far? I'm wondering about a couple details maybe some of you picked up on that I didn't.
- What year was it when Strayed set out on the Pacific Crest Trail?
- Is Strayed the middle or eldest child? I gathered that Leif is the youngest and that there's a three or four year difference between the sisters but I wasn't clear on who is the oldest. I'm often interested in how birth order may or may not affect a person's personality and the way they deal with situations.
- Did anybody actually know what the word boondoggle meant without having to look it up? In case you didn't know (and I will admit that I didn't) it means "work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value."
Okay, your turn. Answer all the questions, focus on one or bring up something different. Go!
I did note that Strayed was the middle child. I thought maybe that was the reason she made so many choices I never would have made being a first born! I think she started out her journey in 95 or 96?
ReplyDeleteI found myself relating more to her mother than to her in the first chapter. I could almost feel the pain she must have felt when she was told she could not ride her horse one last time. To be told your spine would crumble like dry crackers!!!
I didn't make any direct connection to Strayed's life spinning out of control and her being out looking for Lief when her mother passed. It was unfortunate, but I think she would have regretted not going out and making the effort.
I had a hard time reading about her dreams after her mother passed. They were horrifying! I definitely held some guilt after my dad died, and later my mom, but I never had dreams about killing them! No wonder she woke up shrieking!
Overall I am enjoying the story and can't wait to see what happens on the trail I but often find myself wanting to scream "Stop! What are you thinking?"
I also found myself relating more to the mother than to Strayed. I wasn't sure if that's because I am a mother and my life is so consumed by my children, or if her coping mechanisms were simply so different from what my own would be that I just couldn't relate...
ReplyDeleteI'm at the tail end of part 2 right now. I am enjoying it, but also wanting to scream in my head at times, "Stop! What are you thinking?!"
Have you read or heard about the author's novel, Torch, that was published in 2006? It's fictional but sounds like it is loosely based on her family's struggle following the mother's death. I haven't read it but might... eventually.
Thank you for posting, Susan!