This was a book club pick: Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.” I rarely read autobiographies or biographies in general, but this one is stand-out. It beats Jeannette Walls’s “The Glass Castle” and Gabrielle Hamilton’s “Blood, Bones & Butter” which I both enjoyed. The reason “Wild” is so good is because of the writing. Cheryl Strayed is a damn good writer. Carefully-crafted, insightful, it’s some of the best writing I’ve read in a while. I dog-earned so many pages where I thought she did a phenomenal job of capturing the experience, the emotion, and what she was learning from it. It’s the story of her at 26 years old in personal turmoil, coping with her mother’s death, a divorce, and drug abuse. She decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and details how the experience changes her life.
I’m always on the hunt for good books to read, but tired of searching for Pulitzer prize winners or Amazon’s Best Sellers. My friend TB sent me a comprehensive guide that she gets from her alma mater. Works for me. When in doubt, ask the teachers! I also get recs from a writer who I’ve taken writing classes from. She’s kept a reading list of every single book she’s ever read since she was a kid. It’s truly remarkable. I was inspired to get a journal this year for myself. Her booklist is also up on her website http://www.laurafraser.com/booklists/.
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