into the wild

"With almost a year having passed since Chris' disappearance, my parents' anger, their desperation, their guilt was giving way to pain. And pain seemed to bring them closer. Even their faces had changed. She convinces herself it's Chris, that it's her son whenever she passes a stray. And I fear for the mother in her. Instincts that seem to sense the threat of a loss so huge and irrevocable that the mind balks at taking its measure. I'd begin to wonder if I can understand all that Chris is saying any longer, but I catch myself and remember that these are not the parents he grew up with, but people softened by the forced reflection that comes with loss. Still, everything Chris is saying has to be said. And I trust for him that everything he is doing has to be done. This is our life."

- Carine McCandless
dialogue from "Into the Wild"