“I stood there, motionless, stunned… Tears filled my eyes. I want my mother, I thought. My mother is dead. I thought this every hour of every day for a very long time: I want my mother. My mother is dead. In Cheryl Strayed's memoir "Wild," her mother's death demolished her mental stability and consumed every moment of her life. Not knowing how to deal with her grief, Cheryl ended up doing things in her life that many people would consider regrettable. She ended up losing her marriage, her family, her friends, became addicted to drugs, and lost her own state of being. Although Cheryl was moody, her mistakes and setbacks were her destiny to create a better life. During her time on the Pacific Crest Trail, she endured physical pain; however, the suffering made her stronger. The trail had many obstacles that forced her to overcome her grief. For example, although she endured pain on the trail, she replaced the physical pain of the trail with grief. Essentially, by pushing through the grief, Cheryl helped her cope: "I had begun to think that maybe it was good that I hadn't spent my days on the track meditating on the sorrows of my life, that perhaps being forced to concentrate on my physical suffering and some of my emotional suffering would disappear” (Sojourn 92). Cheryl set out on the trail to figure out her life, but she needed a little distraction to occupy her grief. One of the things that makes this memoir more compelling is the physical endurance that Cheryl demonstrated. Before Cheryl set out on this trail, she was not physically or mentally prepared for this extreme hike. In the memoir's continuity, people would have thought there was no way she could handle the track. Most readers would want you... middle of paper......to act on her mind because of all the mental breakdowns she was suffering. Physical pain prevented Cheryl from grieving. Regardless of the fact that people expected Cheryl to fail while running the trail, she finished stronger and proved everyone wrong. The baggage she carried while hiking the trail also made her a better person throughout her journey, and once her journey was over, she had no regrets. Despite all the physical, mental and emotional suffering, she did her best to stay strong. The way she dealt with her problems was dysfunctional to some people; however, it ultimately made her a better person. Works CitedStrayed, Cheryl. Wild: From lost and found items on the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: VintageBooks, 2012. Print. Strayed, Cheryl. "The Sun Magazine | The love of my life." Sun magazine | The love of my life. Np, September 2002. Web. March 3. 2014.