Photo by Joni Kabana.
AMES, Iowa -- The woman who wrote a beloved memoir about her personal renewal during a solo wilderness trek on the Pacific Crest Trail will speak at Iowa State University.
Cheryl Strayed will present "A Wild Life" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at Stephens Auditorium. Her talk is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m.
Strayed's memoir, "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail," was a No. 1 New York Times best-seller. At age 22, shattered by her mother's death and the end of her young marriage, Strayed decided to confront her emotional pain by trekking more than 1,000 miles from the Mojave Desert to the Oregon-Washington border. Her book recounts the sometimes harrowing — other times hilarious — stories of her demanding trek and the personal journey that led her there. The popular book was adapted into an award-winning movie starring Reese Witherspoon.
In her presentation, Strayed will discuss what she learned about how we bear the unbearable, how we move from grief and anger to acceptance, and how we keep walking even when it seems impossible to stand. There will be a book signing following her talk
Strayed is the author of an advice essay collection, "Tiny Beautiful Things," and the novel "Torch." Her books have been translated into 40 languages. Her essays have been published in "The Best American Essays," The New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, Salon and elsewhere. Strayed is a regular columnist for the New York Times Book Review. She also cohosts "Dear Sugar Radio," an advice podcast for the lost, lonely and heartsick produced by WBUR Radio.
Strayed's talk is co-sponsored by the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment, University Library, Ames Public Library Friends Foundation and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by Student Government. More information is available online at ISU Lectures Program, or by calling 515-294-9935.
