I have yet to read the nonfiction book, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, but I saw the movie adaptation years ago, directed by Sean Penn. So, I already knew more or less the true story of Christopher McCandless and how in 1990, after graduating college, he gave up nearly all his worldly possessions, and disappeared from his family and travelled the country, ultimately ending up in Alaska in 1992. And several months ago, I noticed this nonfiction book, “The Wild Truth”, saw the image of the bus on the book cover, and saw the last name McCandless, and that grabbed my attention as I quickly recognized that this was linked to the “Into The Wild” story. I saw the synopsis of the book and realized that there is actually MORE to the story that was not told before. And this book was written by his sister, Carine, because she wanted to clear things up. All the available copies of the books were checked out from the library in the Libby app, so i put myself on the waiting list, because I knew I wanted to find out the whole story. And then a few days ago, it was finally my turn to pick up the book to read.

As soon as I started reading, I quickly got hooked into the story, as she is an incredible storyteller, and did not leave much out. I quickly sped through the book in just a few days, as I could not stop reading, wanting to read more and find out what happened. I am not going to give any spoilers here in case any of you are intrigued to read this book, but I will tell you that it pretty much gives you the history of their childhood, all the way up to when Christopher left, and it explains why he left. The story doesn’t stop there either- it continues with telling the readers what happened after the events of “Into the Wild”. It’s shocking and heartbreaking at times to say the least.

I finished the book earlier today, and after several hours of marinating on the information and history gleamed from the book, I decided that I wanted to re-watch the movie, “Into The Wild”, tonight while the book was still fresh in my head. And I’m glad I did. Watching it after reading the book definitely gave me a fresh perspective on what I was watching, and not only that- I was also able to pick up on a few subtle things that were said, or happened that viewers might not really understand, unless they read this book. As I watched it, I had greater appreciation for the movie and what was done to make it (Carine’s book, does have parts where it does discuss the movie and what was done in the pursuit of making it, and I found it all very interesting).

I am going to be throwing this post under the category of “Book vs Movie” even though I am not really doing any comparison here- it’s just the category that fits the most since I am talking about a book AND a movie. And with that said, let me talk about the movie now, for a bit.

What an amazing movie that was well done! Sean Penn and his team put together an excellent cast including Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Hal Holbrook, and more. It is full of breathtaking locations and scenery in nature. The movie focused less on the family drama, and more on Christopher’s journey, and I thought that was an excellent choice. I think it makes for a more inspirational story- and not only that, but it also honors him by making it about him, and his journey. And what a journey it was- filled with adventures, and making connections with people along the way. I think the people behind the movie and the rest of us can owe that to author Jon Krakauer who spent 3 years researching Christopher’s journey and tracking down the people he met along the way, before he wrote his book.

Some people would say the “Into The Wild” book/movie is inspirational- I saw online that the famous Bus 142 in Alaska had become a huge tourist destination after both the book and the movie came out, and it became so popular that it also became a problem, because the journey to it is treacherous. At least 2 people died and at least 15 had to be rescued after trying to reach the bus over the years. The Alaska National Guard ended up removing the bus by helicopter in late 2020 to get people to stop making the journey for safety’s sake. Some people might say the book/movie is sad, and it is- there are heartbreaking parts to it.

But what i hope it does the most for people, is to make them think. About their own lives- what they want to do, where they are going, and how they want to get there. There is one line that Christopher makes (that is found in his writings), that is mentioned in the book “The Wild Truth”, as well as in the movie (and most likely in Jon Krakauer’s “Into The Wild” book as well)- and it is this: “Happiness only real when shared”. That really sticks out for me. Think about that, folks. I think it’s a powerful thought, and I’m going to hold onto that.

With all that said, if you haven’t- I recommend checking out Carine McCandless’ “The Wild Truth”, Jon Krakauer’s “Into The Wild”, as well as the Sean Penn directed movie, “Into The Wild”!