Cheryl Strayed gained strength through the long grieving process resulting from the loss of her mother. The unexpected and horrific journey along the Pacific Crest Trail has changed his character in a way that he can now bear to live another day in life; she is now married with two children. The wilderness taught her how to find her own inner self-realization. From heroin abuse to multiple sexual encounters, Strayed was finding different paths to feeling something inside himself again; to feel alive. “I can do it. I can waste my life. I become trash” (Strayed 53). It took strength, motivation and determination to start working extra shifts to save on the expense of hiking gear, then quit his job and embark on this “absurd” journey to hike 1,100 miles without realizing what he was really asking for. for.During and after the stressful period of his mother's forty-nine day battle with cancer, Strayed had many sexual urges. Sometimes the doctor gives morphine to his mother without saying a word, sometimes he tells her no in a voice as sweet as this penis in his pants (Strayed 21). She was the only one of the three children who remained with her mother during her suffering. Instead of frequently bursting into tears and avoiding seeing his mother suffer, Strayed showed courage by staying at his mother's bedside to appreciate her final moments. His disbelief in God also affected his moments of helplessness because he had nowhere to turn for comfort other than having these sexual urges. Strayed spiraled out of control and was destroying and endangering her life through drug use and sexual encounters, but she gave up. about his life. He struggled and insisted on finding happiness; “I was hungry for love” (Strayed 23). He no longer knew how to take ... middle of paper ... such negative experiences that broke the boundaries of emotional freedom and tested his physical and emotional boundaries. “Every part of my body hurts. Except my heart. I didn't see anyone, but, strange as it was, I didn't miss anyone” (Strayed 70). This requires a turn of events. “Every part of my body hurts, except my heart,” gives new meaning and explains how Strayed achieves emotional stability following his mother's death and illness. This demonstrates great strength in the sense that he is able to overcome the obstacles placed in his path: the feeling of what it means to be alive. This work invites and informs the reader of the many ways in which one can deal with loss; Furthermore, Strayed demonstrates what can work for everyone: the sublimation method. Work Cited Strayed, Cheryl. Wild: From Lost to Found along the Pacific Crest Trail. New York: Vintage Books, 2012. Print.