A Modern Pioneer

Cheryl Strayed, the writer of the bestselling novel Wild, wrote about her experience before deciding to take the three-month hike in the first chapter. While reading through the sincere words describing her childhood and upbringing with her mother, together with her memory of the last days with her mother, I was not only moved, but I feel that the bravery of her mother infected her and encouraged her to take this ridiculously difficult hike. Strayed wrote of her mother, “She liked her life as a modern pioneer” and clearly Strayed admired her mother greatly.

Firstly, Strayed’s mother was not afraid to make her own life choices and decisions. She was being abused by her husband and couldn’t put up with it any more, “By twenty-eight she managed to leave him for the last time”. She left and carried her three children with her. We can just imagine how hard it can be for a single mother to raise three children alone but she faced the reality bravely and tried her best to feed the family. “She had one job, than another”, and although they were still poor, she told her children that they were not poor because they were rich in love. She managed to make a living, what’s more, she managed to make a colorful living, “We had lived among the comforts of the modern age”. She dated men and the children had a father named Eddie. She was really a great mother because she was able to create happiness for her children and for herself, boosting their courage to fight for a better life.

Secondly，she was an aspirant for knowledge and a degree regardless of her age, “My mother had always wanted to get her degree”. She was forty and too old for college, but she persuaded her daughter to let her in. She made great efforts and earned straight A’s. She was ambitious in her study, which showed that she was passionate towards life. She was devoted to improving herself and becoming a worthy, valuable woman.

Thirdly, while she was facing death, she appeared strong. At first she could not even accept the fact, refusing morphine from the nurse and saying, “Morphine is what they give to dying people, Morphine means there’s no hope.” She also once asked the real doctor if she could still ride her horse. She was so indomitable that she refused to give up her life. When she suffered from pain and was asked by her daughter how she felt, she replied “Oh, honey”, because she did not want her children to worry about her. She forgave her son for not staying with her. She endured the pain, the suffering, the fear when facing death, all by herself.

Being decisive, optimistic, ambitious and tolerant, Cheryl’s mother deserved to be called as “A Modern Pioneer”, and though she died an early age, her love and courage would support the writer for the rest of her life.