Quotes from Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.

Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.

I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.

But [Everett] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That's what was great about them. They tried. Not many do.

According to the moral absolutism that characterizes McCandless's beliefs, a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all.

I was stirred by the dark mystery of mortality. I couldn't resist stealing up to the edge of doom and peering over the brink (…) That was a very different thing from wanting to die.

Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.

What if I were smiling and running into your arms? Would you see then what I see now?

When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you.

When you forgive, you love.