Amy Troutman retired from a full-time job with GM in Fort Wayne. Troutman and her husband, Ken, downsized to a house in Oakwood Park where she became totally bored. Five years ago she reentered the workforce to work part-time at the Syracuse Library. She begins her sixth year of working at the circulation desk and guides the adult book club. Troutman is shown in front of a display that shows adventurous bipedal biographies.
(Photo provided)

The Pacific North Crest Trail Sets the Scene 

The Syracuse Library is hosting a book discussion about a young woman, who with no experience in hiking, sets off on a 9 month trek from the Mohave Desert to Washington State. Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail is a self-revealing memoir of someone, who with self-destructive behaviors and moral bankruptcy, breaks the ties to her life and begins anew through physical and mental exertion. Cheryl Strayed, a pen name that she acquired at this time, writes with honesty and clarity.

The author presents no niceties to explain her feelings or actions. This raw book has much the same feel as A Walk in the Woods where Bill Bryson’s junky friend stands cussing and throwing his belongings off the Appalachian Trail. The experience of hiking a trail presents obstacles so that even the most prepared are not always the victors. Strayed completed the Pacific Crest Trail, by herself, on the first try. The experience changed her life in ways the reader can share.

The Adult Book Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9, to discuss this uplifting story. The library can assist with getting a copy of the book either through Evergreen or a special reserve. Call the Syracuse Library at 574-457-3022.