Update And Review Of Wild by Cheryl Strayed

In between sending in proposal and manuscript submissions to various publishers, I was able to read Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  Now, I had been anxious to read this memoir because I was told my a VIP director of publishing that my memoir entitled The Courage Chronicles was too similar to Wild for her to make an objective evaluation.  After reading this memoir, I thought to myself, what in tarnation was she reading to come up with that kind of opinion?!  I even asked my closest girlfriend here in Georgia (who also read the memoir) and she said "There's no comparison.  You and Cheryl aren't on the same planet".  In my opinion, this memoir Wild is about a broken young woman whose mom has just died at the age of 45.  Her father disappeared from the scene when she was six and probably for the best.  She grew up moving to various places until finally she arrives in Minnesota on a rural stretch of land with a house that has no indoor plumbing.  This is also after her mother remarries.  She has two siblings.  They do not have close relations after the mother dies.  Additionally, Cheryl had married at a young age.  Because of her mother's early death and the lack of any real familial support during this time, you see a woman who spirals down into drugs, alcohol, and risky sex all in an effort, I believe, to sooth her wounds and escape.  Eventually, she divorces and decides to trek the Pacific Crest Trail to gather herself and process what has happened to her. 

 As a woman it's risky going out for four months to hike a trail by yourself.  I personally would have been toting a gun and ammo, but she doesn't really worry about it.  She's more concerned with surviving and healing the hole in her heart.  This author does a great job of description.  You are never at a loss of being able to visualize what she is experiencing and witnessing while on this trek.  Unfortunately, I got tired of the trail and its descriptions long before she reached her destination.  That's me, I prefer people drama and many readers may be able to get past what my girlfriend refers to as the dry parts of this memoir.  Here's the thing though:  I don't know too many people who have the time or money to go spend four months finding a personal peace in the wilderness.  And at the conclusion of the book, I kept wanting to say, hey, how did you do it?  How did you decide to live in Portland?  What happened with your brother and sister?  What did you decide to do for a living after the trek?  How did you finally meet "the one"?  Did you ever hear from your dad and did he pass away?  I mean, my memoir involves not just my personal drama, but also, that of my main family members and how it affects me.  There were a lot of questions left for me at the end, but mostly I think I prefer reading about family dynamics and the weaving together of interpersonal relationships that are tried and tested.  And I was also left wondering how this publisher ever thought my memoir and this one were even remotely alike?!!