“Each night the black sky and the bright stars were my stunning companions.”

Cheryl’s evocative descriptions of the natural environment draw readers into her narrative by allowing them to envision her surroundings. This quote not only stresses the vastness and beauty of nature but also emphasizes that Cheryl is on this journey alone.

“Being with him felt unbearable, but being with anyone else did too.”

Cheryl’s marriage starts to unravel when her mother becomes sick. Paul is kind and supportive, but Cheryl is so envious of his unfractured life that she pushes him and everyone else away.

“I had to finally speak the words to Paul that would tear my life apart. Not that I didn’t love him. But that I had to be alone, though I didn’t know why.”

This quote addresses an important theme in Cheryl’s memoir: solitude. Cheryl hikes the PCT alone to gain perspective and rediscover the person she was before her mother died. She sabotaged her marriage to Paul because, even amid grief and addiction, she knew solitude was the only way back to herself.