A long, solitary walk in the wilderness can change your life

Going into the wilderness may seem like an American concept, but its an age-old method of restoring your natural balance, writes Claire Droney

YOU will cry. Either in shock when a bare-faced Reese Witherspoon howls obscenities at the sky after pulling off her own toenail, or in solidarity when she hugs her now ex-husband, or in grief when she her arrives too late at a hospital.

Witherspoon’s new movie, Wild, based on the 2012 memoir by Cheryl Strayed, is a gritty look at loss and its aftermath. The actress plays Strayed,who, aged 26, walked the 1,100-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) four years after the premature death of her mother. Addicted to sex and drugs, Strayed read a book about the trail, bought camping gear, and began her epic journey, weighted down by a backpack that she could barely carry.