Some reading . . .

Well it has been an interesting few months, to put it mildly. A lot of things happening in my life on the spiritual and personal fronts.

I just finished reading two books my wife bought me for my birthday. The first was Into the Wild. I had previously seen the movie which I enjoyed. The book added some more depth to the story. The real mystery in my mind was whether, if he had lived, Christopher McCandless would have been able to enter into a more mature relationship with his parents and thus with the rest of society. I say with the rest of society because so much of how he dealt with others was a result of his relationship with his parents. He left home mainly to escape what he saw as their stultifying and dead-end existence. But I guess that is the way most young people see their parents as they hold down jobs and do all the mundane things necessary to live in the world and to provide for their children the best way they know how.

The other thing that struck me was that he was ready to walk out of the wilderness, and quite possibly begin mending those relationships. But due to various, mostly accidental, events he died alone in the wilderness. He had run so far away from home and when it seemed he was finally able to begin his emotional return he died. It is a tragic and ironic story.

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The other book she bought me was The Last American Man. I can't remember the author at the moment (Elizabeth . .. ?) and I don't have the book in front of me. The book itself is the story of Eustace Conway, a modern mountain man and the founder of the Turtle Island Presevere. His life story is fascinating and filled with amazing adventures and reminded me in many ways of Tom Brown, Jr. I have to wonder if those two have ever met. I enjoyed reading it so much that I stayed up way too light last night to finish it.

It is an interesting book because it is written by a woman and she does recount his amazing adventures but she also paints an honest portrait of a man who is so driven and consumed by his sense of personal destiny that he has difficulty maintaining personal relationships. His life is consumed by his work, and though he desires a family deeply it seems he is unable to compromise his life and work even an iota to achieve that desire. If he didn't want a family it would be different, but the fact that he wants one and wants one so badly is very sad. When I finished the book I said a little prayer for him that he would find what he was looking for.

The book is well written and insightful. The author is an admirer but also a woman. As with most women she has a deeper understanding of relationships in her pinky finger than he has in his whole body. Her insight into his childhood, and particularly the influence of his father is illuminating. In the end you see a person both amazingly accomplished and sadly inept. A person who knows that there is something wrong with him and even has an idea where the problem lies, but hasn't a clue how to fix it. I can certainly sympathize with him there.