Hi! I am taking a stab at trying to find you Carine. I would really like to chat with you about your story. I am truly inspired by your brothers story and quite honestly all you have gone through! It must have been and still is very difficult for you. I have a charity foundation that helps children in distress in particular children who grieve of the loss of a loved one! Maybe we could collaborate. I don't want to go into too much detail here on such a public site but I would really like to chat.please contact me karen@moyerfoundation.org. God Bless!

I just saw the movie last night and want to thank you, Carine, and your parents for having the courage to work with the film makers. The end result is a very inspiring piece of work that seems to have gotten your brother "right," judging from what you have written above. the process can't have been easy, especially for your parents. Your brother comes through in this film as someone who had a rare gift for connecting with people, and he seems to have lived an authentic and beautiful life, which included--as it must--some hardship, pain and sadness. That too is what makes life real.

Again, thanks to you and everyone who was involved in bringing this story to the screen.

To Carine, Im a 14 year old boy, living in canada, and truly see your brother as my hero. I think that he found the freedom in life, that i have been wanting for a long time.

[

Carine – Woo

I lived across the street from you in Annandale and babysat you and Chris. Find me in Knox., TN, I’d love to talk to you. The movie was extraordinary! Kirsten Rehorst – now LaRue

Carine

After watching the movie "Into the Wild" I can tell you that your brother showed specific signs of mental illness. I have worked as a psychiatic social worker and am qualified to diagnose him as Bipolar, mixed type, manic and depressed, with psychotic features. His desire to isolate himself and escape reality are classic symptoms of this disease. You need to accept that he did not get help for this and decided to run from reality. A psychotic break comes between the ages of 18 to 27 and although he was able to make it through college, his break came when he decided to travel and leave society behind. His symptoms had nothing to do with your parents, it is hereditary. Look into your family history and you will find mental illness somewhere in your family tree. Please accept that he had no control over his disease and was a victim of not receiving the treatment he needed. He was not simply a free spirit who wanted to escape society, he ws sick and needed help.

I'm an italian priest (exuse me for my english!) but I need to communicate the incredible emotion for the Chris' story that I fell. Chris is my contemporary and for me is so a brother: it is not easy to explain..., expecially for me that I not speak english very well, but is not essencial. I hope... I would like ask only a personal thing to Carine, if is possible. Thanks, Elio

doneliogirotto@alice.,it

I'm an italian priest (exuse me for my english!) but I need to communicate the incredible emotion for the Chris' story that I fell. Chris is my contemporary and for me is so a brother: it is not easy to explain..., expecially for me that I not speak english very well, but is not essencial. I hope... I would like ask only a personal thing to Carine, if is possible. Thanks, Elio

doneliogirotto@alice.it

"His desire to isolate himself and escape reality "

Reality; such an interesting word. It seems to me that he was in the midst of reality, all around him, all over the place. I wish more people were as real as he was portrayed to be, mentally ill or not.

Are you really his sister?

sprty1200rider@hotmail.com

Britney- How sad and uninspiring must it be for you to live so conventionally inside the box. First and foremost, Carine McCandless does not need people like you to focus on and twist out the negative things from her brother's beautiful life. You only know the filtered things that you have been told about him, and have managed to cloud them with your own perception. As a "psychiatric social worker" you should have more respect for the things that are lying within us all - the internal voice - the drive - to perhaps live a life less ordinary. You should understand that these things are defined differently by each and every one of us & I for one am glad for that. Otherwise I would have to live a textbok life such as yourself. This is the first time I have ever responed to a message board, so thank you for offering me a moment of inspiration. I find it amusing that a person in your profession would actually go as far to judge a persons mental condition based on a movie. Your arrogance far outweighs you intelligence. Give me a psychotic break!! Seek your own advice - get help.

Britney,

I suspect that your love for diagnosis isn't the only place rigidity shows up in your life. So much that you couldn't even begin to imagine the freedom that Chris experienced. Try doing something a little crazy... take a road trip alone... maybe just from one city to the next. Don't plan where you're going to stay. You might just get a small glimpse into a different kind of reality. Life is too short to compartmentalize and categorize... we do this to serve our ego selves. But the truth is that life is full of paradox and there are no black and white answers. We are not in control. All a formal education means is that you've been taught that you can control and categorize things and make diagnoses... to serve your ego. I worry about people in the healing profession who think the way you do. Does it even matter what label this person's mind state is anyway? How would that change anything... he did what he needed to do in order to feel authentic. We should all be a little less sane... it would be a healthier society.

Britney-

Is is possible for you "psychiatric social worker" types to analyze youself? It is my belief that the beauty of Chris' story is in the wanting of the unhindered freedom of choice and TRUE liberty that he was able to experience.

In our modern social world, I cringe at how dependent people are on all of the things that he was fleeing. The problem 'I have' with your apparent diagnosis is that you would even dare to be careless enough to post the words you chose to post. In your world of psycho-analysis did you ever stop to consider that your words would do nothing to benefit someone like Carine when you typed them!? Did you even care?

I gather that Chris' passion for a truly free life, far away from the likes of people like you and your labeling of people ("Bipolar, mixed type, manic and depressed, with psychotic features") is what captivates those of us who appreciate his willingness to chase that form of freedom that your silly little college text books apprently left out or disregard.

Now, I do not mean to sound harsh, but your whole post only drives home the type of HOGWASH that encourages people to have a burning desire to seperate themselves from a life of social classifications and regulation. People like you would be happy to involuntarily commit people like Chris to months or years of 'counseling,' and for what?

No, Ms. Britney... You are the one who needs to "accept" the fact that Chris McCandless was successful in that he had the COURAGE to walk his journey ON HIS TERMS. Even to the point of dying for the freedoms that he longed for.

The mere mention of "psychotic illness" on your part only proves that you have missed the point entirely.

To be free from the CHAINS that we have created for ourselves in our societies around the world... To reject the bondage that comes with the world he departed should not deserve your criticism, and certainly not your useless and heartless meddling in the life of his closest sibling! Rather, I am content to believe that your real problem is quite simply that he got it, and you don't.

This is why we are captivated by this mans story. The temptation to leave it all behind is much stronger than to read of the crude ramblings of self-proclaimed 'academics' as you. What's to enjoy about that kind of life? Do you sit around with your college friends at Starbucks and talk about who you can ridicule or 'classify' next?

As unprepared as people may say he was, I for one cannot recall anyones lives being so touched by such a pure story by any dead sociologist or psychologist!

In the final analysis he was where he wanted to be and who he wanted to be... Who are you to challenge that RIGHT!

Don't bother responding with questions, I have no patience for your type. Your labels and studies of human behavior, or, "qualifications" won't impress me in the slightest. By reading the other post's on this thread, I think I could reasonably deduct that many are of the same opinion.

--Josh

jd.brannon@gmail.com

I agree that Chris McCandless was ill-prepared and although had (what I believe to be) good intentions, was too self confident. There are some things that I cannot and will never understand..why did he not bring some basic things that even the most inventive person could not do without in the wild=AXE among other things. Apparently Chris felt that it would not be a true adventure with an axe! Then why did he bring books and clothes, etc.?

I have read John Krakauer's book "Into the Wild". I have also read what Ron Lamothe (documentary maker of "The Call of the Wild") had to say on the matter. Well, John Krakauer was not correct in blaming moldy seeds to Chris McCandless' death. HE STARVED and anyone can deduce this from the little nutrition Chris had and how malnourished he appeared in the photos prior to his death.

I think Chris was tormented and tried to find meaning and/or purpose. Whatever the case, he died in the wild. He was a man, but not a hero as some have called him. I do not feel that he respected the land and certainly did not live off the land. To live off the land would have meant he would have not become so emaciated and although he still may have died from an accident, animal attack, etc. he would have been able to have built shelter and have mapped out the area better than he did.

I feel sad for the McCandless family and their loss. No matter what anyone has said or will say about Chris' relationship or lack thereof with his parents, they are still his parents and have lost their loved one.

After reading what a few of you had to say to Britney's based on her views on Chris McCandless, PLEASE may I remind all of us that NONE of us really know what Chris was all about. I do not agree with all of what Britney had to say, however, I would not be so quick to criticize her. Chris did appear to go against the grain, which to some people may mean that he is some kind of hero. However, to follow and conform is not always a terrible thing as we all do it from time to time. And to say that Chris lead a beautiful life is to say that so many of us are living ugly lives. That is untrue. We all don't have to live to an extreme to be fulfilled and happy. Life is full of ups and downs and no matter what anyone says, to have family to rely on is a BEAUTIFUL thing.

I have been wanting to write to Carine for some time, but have struggled with the thought of imposing on her life. I hope what I say can help anyone who looks negatively on the way Chris chose to live his life.

I too like Carine have an older brother who I looked up to. Being the only daughter with three brothers. My brother Kevin and I are the two middle children, also three years apart. Kevin was just like Chris, good at everything he touched. Straight A's, star athlete, ect. Kevin was scouted by many Division 1 colleges to play baseball, eventually accepting a full ride scholarship to play baseball at USC. Once at USC, Kevin was once again a star, voted in Baseball America as "America's best shortstop". In the summer of his sophmore year Kevin was sent to Anchorage Alaska to play summer ball for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. He was a local celebrity up there. His baseball coach said he was the best player they had on the Glacier Pilots since Mark Mcguire.

I will never forget the day when I came home from school (I was a now a senior in high school,Kevin was in his junior year at SC) and saw my dad hugging my mom and she was crying hysterically. I honestly thought someone died. My dad then said "Your brother quit the team, he's done, thats it". While some of you might think that is stupid, my parents had been molding Kevin to be a pro athlete his whole life. By this time, he was getting letters of interest from many pro teams, expected to go first round in the draft. But that summer Kevin spent in Alaska changed him, it changed everything. He no longer wanted to live the life my parents had sought out for him, but the life he wanted to live. He graduated from USC with honors, after quitting baseball he was soon offered full academic scholarship.

As soon as he graduated college he took off. The same things that drew Chris to dissapear are similiar to what drove my brother to dissapear. He went on the road for two years, spending the last year in Vail and I thought there was a good chance I would never see him again. This is a guy who did not find out about Sep 11 until two days later because he was so isolated. Lucky for me, I at least knew where my brother was and chose to visit him in Vail. I always admired him for just taking off and I chose to do the same. On one of my travels back to California I stopped in Vail to visit my brother who was working as a ski instructor in Beaver Creek. He told me he had no intentions of ever coming back to Ca and I could see why. He always told me one of his favorite books was "Into the Wild" and I should read it, so thats what I did and I could see why he loved it so much. Him and Chris were very simliar. They both had this light to them that drew people towards them yet they both could go days without seeing anyone and be completely happy.

My brother could have easily met the same fate as Chris and listening to Carine talk about her brother, from a sisters prospective really hit home to me. My brother did decide to come back to California "only for a short time" he says, but ended up meeting a girl who sang in the choir at Saddleback Church where my brother worked for Purpose Driven Ministries. Now they are both happy, have a baby girl and living in Idaho, of course, in the wild. Kevin has a successful photography business now doing what he loves to do most, taking pictures of nature all over the country.

To this day I still have people tell me they think my brother was "crazy" for giving up a multi million dollar contract, not using his million dollar education and making loads of cash, but they do not understand my brother. Even my mother has a hard time watching baseball to this day without breaking down. But that is the one thing I admired about him. He didn't want all that stuff and he found himself the balance in life he was looking for. There was a point where he told me he didn't think he would ever get married because there is no way a girl would want to live their life the way he does. Of course he was wrong.

I can almost gaurantee you that Chris would have eventually come back, found a balance between the road and society and settled in somewhere like my brother did. God just has different stories for each of our lives and his story is one remarkable story. For any of Chris's critics, I am sure he would think its funny, just as my brother laughs when people tell him " you gave up your entire future". People like that just don't get it and they never will.

To Carine and any other sisters out there who have a sibling who dares to live "in the wild" and dissapear for a bit, we knew all along what they were doing; that they were not crazy and most possibly did the thing we all wish to do: not be afraid to explore your true destiny, no regrets.

kelly_schultz13@yahoo.com