Mans’ struggle for solitude and peace has been around forever. In this book I learned about young man named Chris McCandless and his quest to find himself in nature. Chris was always a little different and was one of those kids that could go off for hours on his own and be just fine. At the beginning of this book I felt that I could relate to Chris McCandless but didn’t understand how he could run away and give up his entire life. He gave away all his money, changed his name, and disappeared. Chris’s personality was very intriguing to me. He seemed like a very complex individual and the idea of going on a big adventure throughout the country really attracted me to this book.

As I got farther into this book I got a better idea of McCandless’s mind and how interesting he was. He was a very stubborn person that could hold grudges for a long time. I really enjoyed how the author compared Chris to other notable people that went off and went on adventures on the road and compared their personalities and ideas. Chris’s adventure was full of some very thought provoking incidents. Some of the points brought up in this memoir really made me think about what we really need in life. I really liked how the author added excerpts from writing by authors like Tolstoy and Thoreau that showed a very simplistic lifestyle that McCandless lived by and that we don’t need all of these worldly possessions. We can get everything we need from nature.

I think that the death of Chris McCandless was just a string of bad luck. He was doing very well out in Alaska on his own and was so close to making it out alive. I don’t really support his decision to leave his family and never talk to them again but he made new family everywhere he went and learned a lot from all of them. I respect what he did, but would not do something like that.

I’d recommend this memoir to anyone who likes being outside and going on adventures. When I read this I could see myself traveling through the country on the same path that Chris McCandless did and seeing all the sights. This book is a great lesson about doing what drives you, but doing it smart. This man was not prepared very well and was very cocky. I learned to be more humble and enjoy nature more because there isn’t that much left that is free and undisturbed.