The writing of awardwinning author Cheryl Strayed has been described as courageous, gritty, elegant, precise, smart, funny, and sublime. She's a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, having written the critically acclaimed novel Torch, as well as articles for The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Allure, Self, and many others. Most recently, however, she's been in the spotlight for her upcoming memoir, Wild, which is about her 1,100 mile solo journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. She walked the trail seeking forgiveness and hoping to find her "innocent self" again, yet what began as an "idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise," became something much greater. Through this journey, she found transcendence, hope, and healing. She confronted the wild and she confronted herself, ultimately finding the extraordinary in those things that we so often take for granted. Cheryl currently lives in Portland, Oregon where even indoors she continues to find meaning. Like her mother before her, she seems to "bring magic into every day." For instance, when we asked her what she believes is the most extraordinary place in the world, she had this to say: "My bed at sixthirty in the morning, after my two children have crammed themselves in beside me and my husband and our cat, Gulla. Because real, live, wild love is there. And what's more extraordinary than that?" Wild comes out in March 2012, and beyond that Cheryl plans to continue growing as an artist. Her hope is that her next book "always reaches further, dives deeper, and risks bolder than the one that came before it."

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, selforganized events that bring people together to share a TEDlike experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, selforganized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are selforganized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)