Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

While Ms Strayed may have needed this cathartic rendition of her trail walk, the reading public did not. The dangers she encountered were not frightening and were often a product of her frequently acknowledged lack of preparedness. A bear! It walked away. A rattlesnake! It rattled and she walked around it. No water! She walked to a nearby road and got help. Lost boots. Buy some more. She provided a map early in the book that showed how far she walked and when she left the trail to hitch rides. Where's the tension? Ms Strayed wrote this many years after her actual hike, yet her descriptions were unbelievably (to me) vivid and often alliterative or metaphoric without quoting her journal. Perfect memory? Maybe. Validation of authenticity? Quite the antithesis. Far too much of the book was dedicated to trying to elicit sympathy for her's and her mother's life experiences. It became tedious and simply didn't work for her. Ms Strayed came across as too self-indulgent to fulfill the role of heroine. She was not particularly likable. Read Bill Bryson's account of his Appalachian Trail experiences instead if you want a five star adventure.