The Wild Truth

Written by Carine McCandless

Narrated by Carine McCandless, Matt Gardner and Shelly McCandless

The spellbinding story of Chris McCandless, who gave away his savings, hitchhiked to Alaska, walked into the wilderness alone, and starved to death in 1992, fascinated not just New York Times bestselling author Jon Krakauer, but also the rest of the nation. Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, became an international bestseller, translated into thirty-one languages, and Sean Penn's inspirational film by the same name further skyrocketed Chris McCandless to global fame. But the real story of Chris’s life and his journey has not yet been told - until now. The missing pieces are finally revealed in The Wild Truth, written by Carine McCandless, Chris's beloved and trusted sister.  Featured in both the book and film, Carine has wrestled for more than twenty years with the legacy of her brother's journey to self-discovery, and now tells her own story while filling in the blanks of his. Carine was Chris's best friend, the person with whom he had the closest bond, and who witnessed firsthand the dysfunctional and violent family dynamic that made Chris willing to embrace the harsh wilderness of Alaska. Growing up in the same troubled household, Carine speaks candidly about the deeper reality of life in the McCandless family. In the many years since the tragedy of Chris's death, Carine has searched for some kind of redemption. In this touching and deeply personal memoir, she reveals how she has learned that real redemption can only come from speaking the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Nov 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062350978

Carine McCandless

Carine McCandless is an entrepreneur, activist, and mother. She has been successfully self-employed since she started her first business at the age of nineteen. As a public speaker her presentations are featured in education and corporate venues across the United States. She is the sister of literary icon Chris McCandless and consulted closely with Jon Krakauer on his bestselling book Into the Wild. She also worked as a direct advisor and script contributor to Sean Penn for his film adaptation of the book. She lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her two daughters.

Reviews for The Wild Truth

[cabracrazy18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is the story behind 'Into The Wild' It wasn't meant to 'glorify' Christopher McCandless, it was meant to help explain what made him choose to break away from his family in the way he did. If you are looking for a fluffy read, look elsewhere. If, however, you want to understand how domestic abuse can effect the children involved, even well into their adult years, if you want to grasp what made Christopher McCandless think they way he did, this book tells that story. I actually think Carine was too kind to her parents. She made repeated efforts to try again and again and again to make peace and forgive their volatile behavior but like so often happens, the guilty party twists and distorts reality to explain away their actions. I appreciated the behind-the-scenes look into Chris' (and all the McCandless' children's) reality.

[amerynth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Carine McCandless' book "The Wild Truth" was written to shed some light on why her brother Chris left his family behind to follow his wanderlust (and ultimately, he tragically starved to death on a bus parked in the backcountry of Alaska.)The book isn't really about Chris, but about Carine's experience of living with her abusive parents who were mired in an incredibly toxic relationship. Carine struggles herself in her relationship with them and eventually makes the same decision as Chris to cut them out of her life-- though she doesn't choose to leave society behind as well.Carine is not a natural writer, and sometimes glosses over how her past has affected her life (she appears to have poor taste in men.) However, her struggle between wanting to spare her parents more pain and protecting herself from their abuse is something with which I could identify. I appreciated her willingness to bring a painful story to light to help better illustrate why her brother made the choices he did.

[jaynee_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having gone to high school with Chris, and known him personally, I was interested to read his sister's perspective on the extremely dysfunctional family life that caused Chris to disengage from his parents and seek his own happiness in the wilds of Alaska upon graduating college. It's not a perfect book, but is definitely a nice addendum to Krakauer's "Into the Wild."

[Ross Taylor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty interesting book from another perspective. Well narrated. A deep dive into family dynamics.

[Emma Partin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you like Into the Wild this is a must read! You learn of the much needed backstory of Chris’ childhood. However the biggest theme of this book is the strength of the McCandless children. Carine’s strength is baked into every page of this book. This is the fastest I’ve ever read a book. A true page turner.

[fitrun77 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The love Carine has for people has taught me many lessons. It took one day to read this. I couldn’t put it down.
I wish I had known Chris. Her Chris. I have one of my own. This book makes me not feel alone.

[bness2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent & a must read if liked into the wild. What a life she has lead.

[marshapetry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was one of the people to which Carine referred in the opening of this book: some people thought that Chris was an arrogant self-absorbed privileged prick to run off and stupidly risk his life. Now that I've read this epic-length tome of (every single important or trivial incident - they're ALL covered!.) Carine and Chris McCandleses' life, I've added "stupid" to all my descriptions. Before this book, I thought that Chris was simply out of his league, a "city boy" trying to go back to nature; however, this book discusses how Chris loved the outdoors and his family went hiking and camping... so now what I thought was innocence I can now rightly attribute to stupidity. Wow - simply wow.

[c_why · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mildly interesting, but this book is supposed to clarify why her brother ran away to seek solitude--to escape vicious and crazy parents. I've read books about dysfuctional parents, and these two -- although not fun or easy -- are not nearly as bad as some. Not remotely as crazy. But "They fuck you up,/ your Mum and Dad. They may not mean to/ but they do. They fill you with the faults they had/And add some extra, just for you." Brit. Poet Laureate, Philip Larkin. All so very, very, very sad.

[twink_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read John Krakauer's book Into the Wild back in 1996. I remember being unable to put the book down and that my emotions were all over the place. And yes, I cried in the final pages. But throughout it all was the question - why? When Sean Penn made a movie of the same name, I decided not to see it. After all, I knew how it ended right?But although the ending is known, perhaps not so much for the beginning. And the answer to that question - why?Twenty two years after Chris McCandless starved to death alone in an old bus in Alaska, his sister Carine McCandless has decided to provide some answers to that question - why - in her new book The Wild Truth.I chose to listen to this book as it was McCandless herself who read it. I find hearing the words spoken out loud from the person who lived it is powerful. Carine's story is by turns horrifying and heartbreaking. It is a story of secrets and domestic violence.And here's my dilemma. Yes, the book reveals what life was like for children in this home. And, yes I can see why Chris left to find his own peace. I appreciate Carine's candor in finally exposing the secrets her family held. So, although the book's main premise is to shed light on Chris's past and on his choices, the book is really about Carine.And I enjoyed listening to it. I appreciate the candor and honesty of exposing one's self and life to the world. But a wee part of me wonders why Carine continued to have contact with her parents over the next twenty years - asking for financial assistance, trying to mediate their fights and hoping for a breakthrough. Some pretty horrific stuff is described as happening with her parents and Chris's leaving makes sense. And I know - 'walk a mile....' but I am a loss as to why Carine continued to interact with what are described as thoroughly toxic and dysfunctional parents. Still, I found The Wild Truth a compelling listen, no matter the focus.From an interview with Outside magazine: Carine - "The book is about Chris, but it’s more of a survival story. The best way I can help people learn from Chris and our experiences and our childhood is to show them directly how I learned from Chris and how I learned from our family’s dysfunction, how I survived. So I utilize myself in both positive and self-deprecating ways. I can’t criticize other people for not learning from mistakes if I don’t acknowledge my own mistakes and what I learned. This book very much goes into all of that."

[Misty Singh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Carine is very good at telling the story. I watched the movie a while back and barely remember it. Now I have a new burning desire to watch it again. I think it’s extraordinary how many lives Chris touched after he left this world. And that so many things were brought to light by him.

[dmcco01 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is represented as a work that will expose the true Chris McCandless and help us understand more of his motivation to journey into the wilds of Alaska alone. This is true to an extent. But there are 25 pages of stuff about Chris and 225 pages of Carine McCandless' autobiography of a very ordinary life. I was very disappointed.

[kimsalyers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

very interesting. watching movie now (10-2-2015) a true story