Status
Available
Call number
Publication
HarperOne (2014), Edition: Illustrated, 427 pages
Description
"The spellbinding story of Chris McCandless, who gave away his savings, hitchhiked to Alaska, walked into the wilderness alone, and starved to death in 1992, fascinated not just New York Times bestselling author Jon Krakauer, but also the rest of the nation. Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, became an international bestseller, translated into thirty-one languages, and Sean Penn's inspirational film by the same name further skyrocketed Chris McCandless to global fame. But the real story of Chris's life and his journey has not yet been told--until now. The missing pieces are finally revealed in The Wild Truth, written by Carine McCandless, Chris's beloved and trusted sister. Featured in both the book and film, Carine has wrestled for more than twenty years with the legacy of her brother's journey to self-discovery, and now tells her own story while filling in the blanks of his. Carine was Chris's best friend, the person with whom he had the closest bond, and who witnessed firsthand the dysfunctional and violent family dynamic that made Chris willing to embrace the harsh wilderness of Alaska. Growing up in the same troubled household, Carine speaks candidly about the deeper reality of life in the McCandless family. In the many years since the tragedy of Chris's death, Carine has searched for some kind of redemption. In this touching and deeply personal memoir, she reveals how she has learned that real redemption can only come from speaking the truth"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member marshapetry
I was one of the people to which Carine referred in the opening of this book: some people thought that Chris was an arrogant self-absorbed privileged prick to run off and stupidly risk his life. Now that I've read this epic-length tome of (every single important or trivial incident - they're ALL
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covered!.) Carine and Chris McCandleses' life, I've added "stupid" to all my descriptions. Before this book, I thought that Chris was simply out of his league, a "city boy" trying to go back to nature; however, this book discusses how Chris loved the outdoors and his family went hiking and camping... so now what I thought was innocence I can now rightly attribute to stupidity. Wow - simply wow. Show Less
LibraryThing member Twink
I read John Krakauer's book Into the Wild back in 1996. I remember being unable to put the book down and that my emotions were all over the place. And yes, I cried in the final pages. But throughout it all was the question - why? When Sean Penn made a movie of the same name, I decided not to see
But although the ending is known, perhaps not so much for the beginning. And the answer to that question - why?
Twenty two years after Chris McCandless starved to death alone in an old bus in Alaska, his sister Carine McCandless has decided to provide some answers to that question - why - in her new book The Wild Truth.
I chose to listen to this book as it was McCandless herself who read it. I find hearing the words spoken out loud from the person who lived it is powerful. Carine's story is by turns horrifying and heartbreaking. It is a story of secrets and domestic violence.
And here's my dilemma. Yes, the book reveals what life was like for children in this home. And, yes I can see why Chris left to find his own peace. I appreciate Carine's candor in finally exposing the secrets her family held. So, although the book's main premise is to shed light on Chris's past and on his choices, the book is really about Carine.
And I enjoyed listening to it. I appreciate the candor and honesty of exposing one's self and life to the world. But a wee part of me wonders why Carine continued to have contact with her parents over the next twenty years - asking for financial assistance, trying to mediate their fights and hoping for a breakthrough. Some pretty horrific stuff is described as happening with her parents and Chris's leaving makes sense. And I know - 'walk a mile....' but I am a loss as to why Carine continued to interact with what are described as thoroughly toxic and dysfunctional parents. Still, I found The Wild Truth a compelling listen, no matter the focus.
From an interview with Outside magazine: Carine - "The book is about Chris, but it’s more of a survival story. The best way I can help people learn from Chris and our experiences and our childhood is to show them directly how I learned from Chris and how I learned from our family’s dysfunction, how I survived. So I utilize myself in both positive and self-deprecating ways. I can’t criticize other people for not learning from mistakes if I don’t acknowledge my own mistakes and what I learned. This book very much goes into all of that."
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it. After all, I knew how it ended right?But although the ending is known, perhaps not so much for the beginning. And the answer to that question - why?
Twenty two years after Chris McCandless starved to death alone in an old bus in Alaska, his sister Carine McCandless has decided to provide some answers to that question - why - in her new book The Wild Truth.
I chose to listen to this book as it was McCandless herself who read it. I find hearing the words spoken out loud from the person who lived it is powerful. Carine's story is by turns horrifying and heartbreaking. It is a story of secrets and domestic violence.
And here's my dilemma. Yes, the book reveals what life was like for children in this home. And, yes I can see why Chris left to find his own peace. I appreciate Carine's candor in finally exposing the secrets her family held. So, although the book's main premise is to shed light on Chris's past and on his choices, the book is really about Carine.
And I enjoyed listening to it. I appreciate the candor and honesty of exposing one's self and life to the world. But a wee part of me wonders why Carine continued to have contact with her parents over the next twenty years - asking for financial assistance, trying to mediate their fights and hoping for a breakthrough. Some pretty horrific stuff is described as happening with her parents and Chris's leaving makes sense. And I know - 'walk a mile....' but I am a loss as to why Carine continued to interact with what are described as thoroughly toxic and dysfunctional parents. Still, I found The Wild Truth a compelling listen, no matter the focus.
From an interview with Outside magazine: Carine - "The book is about Chris, but it’s more of a survival story. The best way I can help people learn from Chris and our experiences and our childhood is to show them directly how I learned from Chris and how I learned from our family’s dysfunction, how I survived. So I utilize myself in both positive and self-deprecating ways. I can’t criticize other people for not learning from mistakes if I don’t acknowledge my own mistakes and what I learned. This book very much goes into all of that."
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LibraryThing member Jaynee
Having gone to high school with Chris, and known him personally, I was interested to read his sister's perspective on the extremely dysfunctional family life that caused Chris to disengage from his parents and seek his own happiness in the wilds of Alaska upon graduating college. It's not a perfect
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book, but is definitely a nice addendum to Krakauer's "Into the Wild." Show Less
LibraryThing member dmcco01
This book is represented as a work that will expose the true Chris McCandless and help us understand more of his motivation to journey into the wilds of Alaska alone. This is true to an extent. But there are 25 pages of stuff about Chris and 225 pages of Carine McCandless' autobiography of a very
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ordinary life. I was very disappointed. Show Less
LibraryThing member bness2
Excellent & a must read if liked into the wild. What a life she has lead.
LibraryThing member amerynth
Carine McCandless' book "The Wild Truth" was written to shed some light on why her brother Chris left his family behind to follow his wanderlust (and ultimately, he tragically starved to death on a bus parked in the backcountry of Alaska.)The book isn't really about Chris, but about Carine's
Carine is not a natural writer, and sometimes glosses over how her past has affected her life (she appears to have poor taste in men.) However, her struggle between wanting to spare her parents more pain and protecting herself from their abuse is something with which I could identify. I appreciated her willingness to bring a painful story to light to help better illustrate why her brother made the choices he did.
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experience of living with her abusive parents who were mired in an incredibly toxic relationship. Carine struggles herself in her relationship with them and eventually makes the same decision as Chris to cut them out of her life-- though she doesn't choose to leave society behind as well.Carine is not a natural writer, and sometimes glosses over how her past has affected her life (she appears to have poor taste in men.) However, her struggle between wanting to spare her parents more pain and protecting herself from their abuse is something with which I could identify. I appreciated her willingness to bring a painful story to light to help better illustrate why her brother made the choices he did.
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LibraryThing member KimSalyers
very interesting. watching movie now (10-2-2015) a true story
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
very interesting. watching movie now (10-2-2015) a true story
LibraryThing member c_why
Mildly interesting, but this book is supposed to clarify why her brother ran away to seek solitude--to escape vicious and crazy parents. I've read books about dysfuctional parents, and these two -- although not fun or easy -- are not nearly as bad as some. Not remotely as crazy. But "They fuck you
And add some extra, just for you." Brit. Poet Laureate, Philip Larkin. All so very, very, very sad.
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up,/ your Mum and Dad. They may not mean to/ but they do. They fill you with the faults they had/And add some extra, just for you." Brit. Poet Laureate, Philip Larkin. All so very, very, very sad.
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LibraryThing member Kiri
Very interesting reading.
Language
Original publication date
2014 (1e édition originale américaine, Harper Collins Publishers)
2016-02-24 (1e traduction et édition française, Artaud)
2017 -10-05 (Réédition française, 10/18, Littérature étrangère)
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