Cheryl Strayed: “A WILD Life”

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail—alone. Strayed describes this trek in her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, “Wild,” which was the basis of the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. Strayed will discuss what she learned about how to bear the unbearable, how to move from grief and anger to acceptance, and how to keep walking even when it seems impossible to stand. Strayed is the author of the “New York Times” bestsellers “Tiny Beautiful Things” and “Brave Enough,” as well as the novel “Torch.” Her essays have been published in “The Best American Essays,” the “New York Times,” “Washington Post Magazine,” and “Vogue.” Strayed is the co-host, along with Steve Almond, of WBUR’s hit podcast “Dear Sugar Radio.” Presented in partnership with the Department of English Visiting Writers Series