By Nancy Mills
DURING HER FIRST 26 years, Cheryl Strayed had
little control of her life. Her parents split up. Her
mother died from lung cancer at 45. While struggling to make sense of her misfortunes, Strayed got
lost in drugs and promiscuity. When her marriage
ended, she could have simply disappeared or died.
Instead, she clung to something her mother once
told her: “Put yourself in the way of beauty.” So in 1995
she did—in the craziest, most impractical manner she
could think of.
Strayed decided to hike alone for 1,100 miles on
the Paci;c Crest Trail (PCT), a rugged course for
even the most experienced long-distance backpacker.
She not only lived to write about it in her best-selling
2012 memoir, Wild, but she also came to understand
herself and take charge of her destiny.
Reese Witherspoon
and Cheryl Strayed
share a journey of
trail and trial
Womengone
Wı•ld
26 ;e Costco Connection MARCH 2015
cover story
