The Wild Truth

nyone who has suffered abuse. Carine is a remarkable example of someone who has put her foot down and broken the cycle of abuse.Carine pulls away the veil of mystery surrounding Chris' motives for leaving his family and severing communications with his parents as he ventured Into the Wild. Carine openly discusses the childhood that she, Chris, and the rest of their siblings lived through. She highlights the effects that physical and emotional abuse had on her family at the hands of narcissistic parents, with a level of honesty and candor not previously seen by the public. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Chris, but especially to a

I am so grateful to Carine for telling her story. It was very moving and powerful for those of us who empathized with Chris; now we truly understand. It took a lot of courage for Carine to be completely honest and to work so hard all of her life to find balance and peace. Nothing can bring back Chris, but his life was not in vain. He has been an inspiration to many people, and I hope Carine's words will help more people break the cycle of abuse. Carine, you have brought peace to those who never knew Chris but mourned him anyway. Your story is just as beautiful, haunting, sad, and triumphant a his. Thank you.

I had read the story (Into the Wild) concerning the travel and finally the death of Chris McCandless. So when his sister Carine wrote this book The Wild Truth I had to get it and read ; I am so glad I did, it truly tells the tail of the McCandless household, and why the son/brother decided to make this journey into the wild. It will make you laugh and cry, but you will enjoy the "journey" I highly recommend this reading.

This book was written by Chris McCandless' s sister, Carine to clear up the misconceptions of why her brother abandoned the McCandless family and ended up tragically losing his life in Alaska. The book starts with Carine visiting her childhood home which has been sold to a single mom with 2 kids. Carine criticizes the current physical condition of the home during the 1st Chapter alluding to the fact the single mom probably doesn't have enough $ to pay for repairs or landscaping. Wow, what does this have to do with her brother's death? I felt sorry for the single mom reading about what a bad home owner she is along with the rest of the world. Carine begins her family's life story with her dad being married to another woman while dating her mom, Billie. They have a baby together: Chris, out of wedlock. Carine's mom eventually marries Carine's dad but, Carine keeps bringing up the this fact. I'm not an advocate of multiple relationships at the same time but, OMG! Get over it! Your dad and mom married. How many people have extra-marital affairs with babies? Carine then delves into the physical and emotional abuse delivered to her and Chris by her parents. I can completely sympathize due to the fact I came from a mentally and physically abusive broken home during the 1960's - 1970's. Carine keeps reflecting that this is why Chris leaves the family after college graduation and seeks for truth. During the books narrative Carine continues to bring up what bad parents Chris & Carine had. This is suppose to be one of the primary reasons for Chris's death. However, when I look at the family photos and Carine tells us her parents bailed her out from her 1st and 2nd marriages, took her sisters and her on a family vacation to Paris, hosted a baby shower for her, helped finance her business, I find it hard to believe her parents are as horrible as she describes. Carine describes herself and Chris as "perfect kids, teenagers and adults". Many people have/are suffering abuse daily, it's not right. When you become an adult at 18, one can take control of their life and make educated decisions for their future. The past will remain with us but, it doesn't control how one becomes an adult. My condolences to all the family members. This book was a disappointing read, Carine is too self-absorbed.

Was disappointed and was hoping for more. Too much about Carine's problems without much added regarding Chris. The Epilogue is the best part of the book.  An updated version of the original Into The Wild book with this Epilogue added would have been much better. 

I was so looking forward to getting this book. I read it and was disappointed. While Jon Krakauer's book and the movie was powerful, moving, and interesting. This was not. The author exposes lots of emotional, and physical her family suffered, she still seem to stress her life imposed on the by this more than then her brother's death. Wished I just waited till the library got the book. Her family was a head case to say the least, but all family have their skeletons in the closets.

Very disappointed.  Seemed very self serving and not at all about the subject portrayed by the cover or sleeve.  Abuse is a tough deal but the author repeatedly makes mistake after mistake in her life and blames everyone but herself.  Too narcissistic and off topic...spend your money on another read.  

Finally, the rest of the story. A must read if you liked "Into the Wild." Carine is now able to tell the truth, fill in the blanks and share the truth. Until now, we have not heard from the brother. That all changes with with this book...and it all makes sense now.  

Into the Wild is easily one of my favorite books and this was a perfect supplement to it. What courage Carine had to share the truth, her brother would be proud

definitely worth reading if you want to know the truth behind chris's life and why he did what he did.. loved it.

If you've read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, this book tells the other side of the story: The reason Alex? Supertramp went to Alaska in the first place. This is his sister's account of the brutal childhood the two of them had under a father who regularly whipped and beat them and made them want to get out of the house and the family as quickly as they could. If you've read Krakauer's book, this fills in some interesting pieces. It also shows the devotion and love of a sister tracking down the sad ending of her brother's life. It's a great book.

Kind of felt like she wanted to profit from telling her side on top of the other stories already told.

In this book Carine fills in the blanks from " into the wild". It helps the reader put all the pieces together as we learn how Chris lived as a youth and young adult, and why he made the choices he made. Well done, great read.

There's a lot to like about this one, in my view. From a nuts-and-bolts standpoint, the book is generally well-written, with a good, functional format and a strong first-person narrative. The author's story is told coherently and concisely, and is illustrated by several pages of high-quality color pictures. Likewise, the author writes with intelligence, authenticity, fairness, and, at times, great passion; throughout, I felt to be reading something written by a real, living person. So, in a purely literary sense, 'Wild Truth' is, for me, a fully readable piece of writing. As for substance, it is, I believe, equally rich, and on multiple levels. First, the book is of obvious interest to anyone who followed the saga of the author's brother and his ill-fated journey, as chronicled in the famed book 'Into the Wild' by Jon Krakauer; 'Wild Truth' is a natural companion to that text, providing a highly relevant context to the events surrounding Chris McCandless's death. In this capacity alone, I got a lot from 'Wild Truth,' if only to flesh out the original account detailed in Krakauer's best-seller. Really, Krakauer's account of McCandless is incomplete without his sister's complimentary facts and perspective. Plus, it is through this, and the whole new light it sheds on the matter, that a truly valuable point is made: that there is usually more to any given situation than appearances might suggest, often to the point of totally invalidating any judgements made without these facts (and, the book shows how damaging such premature judgements can be for the judged). If 'Wild Truth' contains one big, practical takeaway, it's that we should perhaps be a bit more conservative in judgement of one another, for all is rarely known. However, I was surprised to find that what I liked most about 'Wild Truth' was, rather, in regards to the author herself; namely, her story proved to have its own merit, independent from that of her celebrity brother. So engaging and heartfelt was her own respective biography, I began to regard 'Wild Truth' as the story of a woman and her life and times and challenges and triumphs, rather than merely that of "Chris McCandless's sister." Indeed, her experience was of a somewhat different bent than her brother's (and with a different ending, presently), but it offers no less in the way of life-lessons (especially in regards to the psychology of power, control, and the leveraging of such within our relationships -- a true study, in this respect). Furthermore, I failed to sense ulterior motive in the author's motivations for writing this book (which is to say, it did not impress me as an attempt to capitalize on her brother's famous demise, or to subtly promote her views and beliefs in an attempt to damage her parents). Of course, only the author knows for sure her motivations for writing this book; but, for what it's worth, I felt it to be of positive intention, and I certainly felt enriched upon reading it. The only reason I gave four stars instead of five is that, while well-written and substantial, 'Wild Truth' isn't quite of the exceptional quality for which I reserve five stars. My sincere thanks goes out to this book's author, subjects, and publisher. I am grateful for, and have benefited from, your work and service.

This book is not only the background to Into The Wild, of which I have not yet read, but the story of how impacting our childhood is to our adult lives. It's a story of childhood abuse no matter what the socioeconomic surroundings. It's a story of how children will protect themselves and there siblings when they realize THEY must be the parents. This is about how we continually hope, look for redemption , and are always ready to forgive for that love we so need from parents who won't or can't because they themselves are so messed up. The best part is the love of a sister for her brother, her search for him, then knowing he is always with her.

l couldn't put the book down incredible story

Great book. If you read and enjoyed Into the Wild, this is a must read!

Good read, not disappointed, enjoyed the author's message.

The book is mostly about the author and her parents.

I always thought there was more to the story of Chris. Although sad, it does help define the reasoning of the journey. If Chris were my brother I would miss him terribly, always wondering what could have been.

Wonderful ending to " why " INTO THE WILD happened, great story and writing, a family tragedy turns into a good ending.