Wild (2014)

In 1995, 26-year-old Minnesota native Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) felt compelled to solo hike the 1,100 miles from the Mojave Desert to the northern border of Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail. For the previous four years, Strayed had grieved her mother, Bobbi’s (Laura Dern), premature death from cancer through anonymous sex and heroin use, eventually divorcing her husband, Paul (Thomas Sadoski). After an abortion to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, she hopes that the journey on foot will — as her friend Aimee (Gaby Hoffman) urges her — get her life together. Read the full review here.