Tuesday, March 17, 2015

The Wild Truth - Carine McCandless

I felt like I read this book with gritted teeth and a headache the whole way through. Written by Carine McCandless, you get the impression that you are to learn more about her brother Christopher, who was written about in Jon Krakauers book - Into the Wild.  How he walked away from his family, changed his name, travelled the country and then walked into the Alaska wilderness with minimal supplies.  Living on an old bus, he finds his food supplies diminish, and his escape routes are impassable, his body is found later by a hunter.

When approached by Jon Krakauer for his book, his younger sister shared many of the family secrets but asked that they not be published.  Twenty years after this story, she now shares these and tells her own story.  Growing up with difficult parents both children were scared by their experiences and tried to distance themselves from their mom and dad.

Somehow I expected learn more about Chris and his story, but instead I felt trapped in the bitterness that the author feels towards her parents.  It felt ugly and raw, and just made me feel sad and then annoyed that I wasted so much time reading this book.  2/5

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