Cheryl Strayed

(Newser) - Hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail can expect to encounter harsh-but-beautiful landscapes, extreme fatigue, and—these days, at least—traffic. "You can’t talk about the Pacific Crest Trail without mentioning the crowds," Pete Brook writes for Outside . He should know: Brook currently is trekking the 2,650-mile...

(Newser) - It looks like Reese Witherspoon's hard work paid off. Critics and audiences alike are raving about Wild, a flick based on Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir about hiking 1,100 miles after the death of her mother and collapse of her marriage. Should Witherspoon prepare an Oscar speech? What...

(Newser) - In Wild, Reese Witherspoon plays a woman who embarks on a 94-day, 1,100-mile hike alone, and the actress says the role is "the hardest I've ever done"—and not just because she had to carry a heavy backpack while filming so her movements would look realistic....

(Newser) - What many of us end up with after checking a book out of the library: a fine for returning it late. What one woman ended up with: a long-lost half sister. That woman isn't named by NPR , who spoke to author Cheryl Strayed. Wild is a memoir of her...