I absolutely loved loved loved reading this story and couldn't put it down! I haven't yet seen the film, but as with Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love, I think Reese Witherspoon is the perfect actress to play this part.
As I've also been planning and dreaming and scheming for the last couple of years to do something big travel-wise, it seemed appropriate to be reading how Cheryl prepared herself for the Pacific Crest Trail - or didn't - as in the case of the giant backpack and too-small boots. But who cares! That's all part of the fun and challenge of doing something amazing, and it makes for humourous reflection when you recount the tales from your travels. If you can laugh at yourself, good on you!
I enjoyed this story so much because I connected with the author and understood why she was trekking the PCT, not just to escape, but that deeper spiritual meaning. If you love travelling and you do it for yourself to "get out of the box" as I do, often it's therapeutic at the time, yet I don't fully understand how it's helped me until much, much later.
"It was all unknown to me then, as I sat on that white bench on the day I finished my hike. Everything except the fact that I didn't have to know. That it was enough to trust that what I'd done was true. To understand its meaning without yet being able to say precisely what it was..." (Page 311)
There are some great quotes in the book and one of my favourites is this:
" Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life? "
Mary Oliver - "The Summer Day"
