Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and Wild Alaska Blueberry Muffins
Recipe: Click for recipe
First, let me say these muffins are not made with wild Alaskan blueberries because I sort of do not live in Alaska. Saying that, they are made with organic blueberries my daughter and I picked yesterday at the blueberry farm by our house. This was a very easy recipe and very delicious! The only aspect I somewhat could not figure out was how much butter in the crumb topping. I was not sure if her measurement was a mistake or what. I cut up a tablespoon of butter which I do not think was enough but was doable.
To the book…
I had two books in the mail and was needing something to read so I did what I always do – head to Goodwill. The irony of finding this book was reading an article that morning about Alaskan officials moving the bus due to tourists/adventurers hiking to see the bus only to find themselves in dangerous, precarious situations (click here for the article).
I know many have already read this book but I had not so I decided to read it. It was very thought-provoking. I really like how Krakauer (the author) told this story, approaching it from the viewpoint of trying to understand why a very smart, young man would choose to make the choices he did – choices that many would say were naive and irresponsible. I went back and forth about the choices he made. I agree with the author that no one will really ever know why he did what he did nor should we make assumptions. However, these are my thoughts that I considered while I read the book…
1) Do you believe that Jesus came to die for your sins and to give you eternal life? Consider how many individuals have an empty void – one which they try to fill with alcohol, drugs, pornography, etc. Have we ever considered, however, isolation and withdrawal as being “something” a person uses to fill this “need”? Do we use academia to help explain the need we are missing? Just a thought…
2) As a mother, my heart is saddened that he completely cut off communication with his family for two years then died. I can’t imagine one of my girls doing this then dying and never having a chance to heal a broken relationship. I hate to say Chris was selfish in this aspect but he was. It does seem, however, that towards the end that maybe he had a desire to heal that relationship. No one will ever know.
3) I have to admire his willingness to leave it all behind. I have often mentioned to my husband about selling everything and just moving to Virginia (or Cornwall/England). I like being close to my family and having security in a job/friends/church. Maybe one day…
4) I think this book gives a great insight into why individuals make the choices they make. As a teacher, I think this gives great insight into the different personalities of people/students, especially what drives them. I loved reading about Chris’s personality as a child. I thought it was hilarious reading about how he tried to get out of the gifted program, how he created side jobs to earn money, and how he wouldn’t do something in school if he didn’t make sense to him (the Physics story). I also admired his willingness to take risks, meeting so many individuals in the process. Also, how many of us are willing to go into “questionable” (not very safe) places in order to have conversations with prostitutes, pimps, and the homeless? That is an admirable trait.
If you would like to read this book, I suggest reading The Great Alone first (see my Fiction page for a synopsis). The Great Alone will give you such a great insight into the harsh, brutal winters in Alaska and survival skills needed to survive in certain parts. I believe reading this will help immerse you into Chris’s story.
A follow-up link: Chris’s sister, Carine, wrote a book detailing childhood details that she believes drove him to make the decisions he did. Here is an article (click).
Smithsonian Channel
Now for some random pictures of flowers I picked from my yard today. 😁
