Peter’s Verdict
An honest, funny and deeply moving memoir that is part wilderness adventure and part story of healing. Bernadette Dunne’s narration captures Cheryl Strayed’s grit and heart, and it was hard to stop listening.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail follows Cheryl Strayed on an 1,100-mile solo hike from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to the Washington border. There is plenty of adventure along the way, including rattlesnakes, black bears, intense heat, record snowfall and some unsettling encounters with men.
But the real story is internal. At 22, Cheryl lost her mother, and in the years that followed her family drifted apart, her marriage ended, and she made a series of choices she regretted. At 26, with little left to lose, she decided to hike the trail alone. She not only survives, she comes out stronger and finally able to forgive herself.
Bernadette Dunne’s reading is smooth and consistent, and it captures the author’s grit and heart.
Cheryl weaves a physical struggle against the odds together with an honest reckoning with grief and abandonment. I loved the humor and self-awareness she brings to her own mistakes, and the raw emotional power is what kept me listening. I can see why Oprah chose it for her Book Club 2.0.
Listen if…
- You like honest, emotional memoirs
- You enjoy outdoor adventure stories
- You want a long listen that is easy to settle into
Skip it if…
- You want a light read: it deals with grief and some hard choices
- You are after a detailed hiking guide rather than a personal story
Where to listen to Wild
The Bernadette Dunne edition is on Audible.
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