Wild

A page-turning parable of transformation, Wild by Cheryl Strayed is the memoir of a woman who had her name legally changed to reflect what she perceived she had become - lost. After a tough, complicated childhood, the wrong marriage and the death of her beloved mother, Cheryl strayed - into drugs, infidelity, and fecklessness. Her response was to set herself a taskful journey - a thousand-mile hike across the Pacific Crest Trail - the perils of which rivaled those of Lewis and Clark. Three months and 300 armchair-gripping pages later she emerges, wiser, stronger and transformed from a woman who has been acted upon to one with the grit and vision to take charge of a battered life. A fascinating memoir and an inspiration to all of us searching for new approaches to old problems.

by Cheryl Strayed; Random House; Toronto; 2012