I had to change. I had to change was the thought that drove me in those months of planning. Not into a different person, but back to the person I used to beโstrong and responsible, clear-eyed and driven, ethical and good. And the PCT would make me that way. There, Iโd walk and think about my entire life. Iโd find my strength again, far from everything that had made my life ridiculous.
Cheryl StrayedThe fatherโs job is to teach his children how to be warriors, to give them the confidence to get on the horse to ride into battle when itโs necessary to do so. If you donโt get that from your father, you have to teach yourself.
Cheryl StrayedI walked all those miles, I learned all those lessons. It's as if my new life was the gift I got at the end of a long struggle.
Cheryl StrayedAnd if you're gonna be a writer, you just truly have to be a writer. You have to throw yourself into it and deal with the negative consequences of that. And there are negative consequences. I mean, there are. But, it's also true that you wouldn't be interviewing me right now if I had worked at the post office. You wouldn't. I would be still writing, but I wouldn't have gotten as far as I've gotten, because I wouldn't have had the time.
Cheryl Strayed