Conscious Reading- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail takes us on a trek from southern Nevada all the way up to the border of Oregon and Washington. The Pacific Crest Trail, or PCT, is the parallel cousin to the better known Appalachian Trail- no small feat for anyone, nevermind a 20-something Minnesota girl going through a quarter life crisis. The eldest daughter of a family completely destroyed, in a bad romance with heroin and having ruined her marriage, Cheryl figures she has nothing to lose and everything to gain from this journey. She sets off with the REI gear the sales associates helped her choose crammed into Monster, her giant backpack. The book explores her life mistakes and coming to terms with her mother's death, to reveal a better version of the Cheryl she once was. 

This was a quick read, and really interesting for me. I found myself comparing my experience in Thailand to Cheryl's experience on the PCT often. She felt alone and scared at first- no one around save for the coyotes and snakes. I felt alone and scared during the first week in Thailand when I was there completely by myself- not knowing a single soul in the entire country. She met wonderful people, and learned more about herself- much like I did- during her journey. Overall, an uplifting read, though dark at times. Snap it up by clicking the link above.

Conscious Reading: The Happiness Project

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This past week I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. As the self-explanatory title explains, the book is a culmination of Rubin's commitment to spend one year focusing on various areas of her life to increase her happiness. She wasn't depressed or particularly sad before, but she felt how many of us probably feel- stressed and a bit out of control. 

The book is broken down month by month as she explains the areas she wishes to focus on. Were we to create our own happiness project, she claims, our specific areas of focus would probably be different since not everyone needs help in the same areas of life. 

For Rubin, the little things went a long way. Amont other things, she focused on organization, preparedness and lightheartedness, identifying ways in which she could improve upon these problem areas. 

 While I didn't see eye-to-eye with her on everything, I did find the book inspiring and think it's worth reading in order to examine your own life's happiness and ways in which you can fine tune it for a better experience. Pick it up online by clicking the link above.

Conscious Reading: Downward Dog, Upward Fog

I love to read. Mostly memoirs and historical fiction, but every once in a while I need a real light, quick read to switch it up. Meryl Davids Landau's book Downward Dog, Upward Fog is just what I was looking for. It's a quick read (I finished it in two days) that follows Lorna, a 20something girl with a great job and boyfriend but who feels like her life is desperately lacking in something. Through her sister, she's introduced to the idea of spirituality, healing and yoga- all things that make her group of shallow girlfriends wrinkle their noses. Then, Lorna's sister gets into a major car accident and her whole world is turned upside down. A great summer read- check it out!