The Internal Struggle In Cheryl's Journey

Throughout the memoir the reader begins to learn the internal and external struggles that Cheryl is battling. Internally Cheryl is struggling to relinquish the relationship she had with her ex-husband, which also means the letting go of the person that she used to be when she was with him and learning to forgive herself for the mistakes that she made in her marriage. Another internal struggle was Cheryl’s desire to have a spiritual connection with her mother and become the woman that her mother thought she was before her life took a dramatic turn. This is a reoccurring theme that the reader comes across in the memoir; there is an overwhelming amount of sorrow and heartbreak from Cheryl because she yearns for guidance from her mother so intensely throughout her emotional journey. A less prevalent internal struggle that Cheryl
It seems that Cheryl’s goal in the memoir was to share with the reader that no struggle whether internal or external is too frightening to overcome and this goal was completed by her honest and raw story telling. Personally, her journey on the PCT was inspiring to read but the journey through her life was incredibly moving because it seemed that the internal struggles were actually more agonizing and difficult to overcome than the physical struggles that she faced on the trail. Simply put, the memoir was an inspirational look into a young woman’s life but as first I was taken back by the honesty that Cheryl had with her readers. A theme that I believe was a bit overlooked was Cheryl’s independence and how this independence led her onto the hike. When Cheryl decides to leave her hometown that included all of her friends and her job she didn’t know at that point what the hike would lead her to but she decided to take the risk