The secrets that drove Chris McCandless into the wild

After being deeply drawn into the story of Chris McCandless in the book "Into the Wild", this book helped me understand why he might have wanted to escape his family. While there is much about Chris in this book, there is perhaps a little too much about the author. It broke my heart for Chris after reading "Into the Wild". He loved life and certainly did not go in to the wilderness expecting to die. It is sad for a family to be so dysfunctional as to cause such an extreme estrangement. Having a brother of my own, I can't imagine Carine's loss. They seemed so close and were each other's ally in this family. I highly recommend one to read "Into the Wild" first, then follow up with this one.

An amazing read! So many things reminded me of my childhood, which was also violent and abusive! Very glad I read this one first, but now I must read "Into The Wild" and perhaps even see the movie! I absolutely recommend this book!

This not a sequel to IntoThe Wild. This book helps us see into the life of Chris Candless and into his mindset as he left a dysfunctional family to set off into the Alaskan wilderness. A wonderful tribute from his sister.

Beautifully written, inspiring, heartfelt. This book relates the missing pieces of the story of Chris McCandless' life and death. It gives meaning to his journey, and one ends the book with a sense of peace and closure.

A must-read for anyonewho was ever captivated by the story of Chris McCandless, the subject of the book Into the Wild, and the movie of the same name. Carine McCandless is a solid writer with a great, but sad, story to tell. It's a book you can't put down once you dive in.

I am thankful for the truthfulness in this book. I saw the movie first and sort of dismissed Chris as reckless, but my daughter encouraged me to read the book. After reading the book I felt there was something in the family dynamic that I just can't put my finger on. So reading this was very enlightening and somewhat of a relief. Also as a child of parents who grew up in a pretty dysfunctional home I then imposed some pretty failed parenting strategies on my two oldest, it was helpful to see it from a child's perspective. I always knew the things I had done wrong and tried to correct them as I've grown older. Thankfully my youngest daughter was the recipient of the better version of me and my oldest daughter is full of grace and forgiveness for me. My middle daughter still holds some anger but I love her and and find this book probably reflects a lot of her feelings. For that I am grateful so I can be more sensitive to her feelings when I'm with her.

I was really interested to hear the backstory to Chris McCandless. Such a sad, sad, story. But Carine McCandless wants to be a victim. She appears entitled, selfish, and wants to always be the superior heroin in the play. I couldn't even finish the book. I have no desire to read her non-story.

Almost 20 years ago, right after it was published, I read Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild, and I was so captivated by the book that I found it hard to put it down. I wanted to know why Christopher McCandless had died, and also, why he'd felt compelled to cut himself off from everything that was familiar and go off on his incredible journey in the first place. His sister does answer some of those questions in her book, but she's not the writer that Krakauer is, and I got bored with her endless personal quest to find Mr. Right.

Chris and Carine grew up in a dysfunctional/emotionally abusive home.....as do many people. The difference here is that while they had to suffer the chaos and mood swings of their narcissistic parents, their mother was a stay at home mom in a nice suburban home, preparing home cooked meals, and sewing clothes and costumes for the kids. These kids weren't neglected or hungry as the story goes for many dysfunctional families. This doesn't excuse the bad behavior of the parents, but causes a bit of conflict for the reader. Upon reading about the college funds provided by the close family friend, it is hard to feel sorry for them. Chris and Carine had means to escape. Chris chose his path. At the end of the book there is hope that Carine has finally decided to break free of her parents, however, I think deep down she will always seek their approval and love.

He always paints a beautiful picture the colors are so bright and gay the people seem to look so happy or he knows how to paint them that way yes he always paints a beautiful picture it always seems to be ideal satan always paints a beautiful picture but I found out that it's not for real he never paints the tears of sorrow he never paints a broken heart or a light that's lost it's song. Thought of this when she spoke about the before church pictures their parents wanted everyone to think all was perfect in their life. I'm glad they did not blame themselves we have a lot of good young people and a lot of bad parents. Carine and Chris your parents are the ones that really missed out!!!! What wonderful children.