“...Both Elizabeth [Smart] and Ruby [Jessop] were fourteen when they were kidnapped, raped and "kept captive by polygamous fanatics." The main difference in the girls' respective ordeals...is that "Elizabeth was brainwashed for nine months," while Ruby had been brainwashed by… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share
Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense hunger. To resist takes tremendous conscious effort, you don’t dare let your guard down for an instant. The void puts you on edge, makes your movements tentative and clumsy. But as the climb continues, you grow… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share
“Climbing mattered. The danger bathed the world in a halogen glow that caused everything—the sweep of the rock, the orange and yellow lichens, the… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
“It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough , it is your God-given right to have it...I was a raw youth who mistook passion for insight and acted according to an obscure, gap-ridden logic. I thought climbing the Devils… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share
He read a lot. He used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often. A couple of times I tried to tell him… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share
But [Everett] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do. — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
“he was ready, perhaps, to shed a little of the armor he wore around his heart, that upon returning to civilization, he intended to… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
“Continually question climbing pursuits. Do they draw one back to the climbing community? Or do they lead along the [inner-directed] path? This questioning generates a tension that is heightened by disillusionment. Ultimately, one reaches an emptiness, and this is where our basic spontaneous nature leads to the beginning of the path... Thereafter one can continually stand apart from the outer… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share
“The boy unmasked the gaping void in Franz's life even as he helped fill it.” — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
“Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul. He soon discovered, however, what Muir and Thoreau already knew: An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one's attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share
I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute. — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
I mean, how can you not be a feminist if you have a brain in your head? If you’re not a feminist, then you’re… — Jon Krakauer Copy Share Image
![“But [Everett] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do.” quote by Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9a0/jon-krakauer-1557_dream_but-everett-and-mccandless-at-least-they_70025.jpg)
