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Alone in Wonderland
Winner of the Indie National Excellence Award for Nonfiction Category.
Christine discovered long distance backpacking while surfing the internet at work. She decided that day to attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. One adventure led to another and a few years later she set out on the Wonderland Trail in Mt Rainier National Park.
Her Rugged Outdoors Woman persona started as a joke, a nod to the outdoor adventurer that she wished to be. But in the years since, she has come into her own as a backpacker, rock climber, and trail runner. This book is a testament to the decision to name who you want to be and make it so.
Christine discovered long distance backpacking while surfing the internet at work. She decided that day to attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. One adventure led to another and a few years later she set out on the Wonderland Trail in Mt Rainier National Park.
Her Rugged Outdoors Woman persona started as a joke, a nod to the outdoor adventurer that she wished to be. But in the years since, she has come into her own as a backpacker, rock climber, and trail runner. This book is a testament to the decision to name who you want to be and make it so.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 7, 2022
35 people are currently reading
5994 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
May 11, 2021
I found this book a little....entitled? Loved hearing about the Wonderland trail, but not through the voice of this person.
Right from the prologue the tone is very self aggrandizing. A few pages into this book and we are told in first person how Christine Reed could have been a doctor, how she matches with sexy professionals on tinder, how living in a van -something some people have to do to survive- is a quirky and free spirited choice for her. We even get a brag about her kindergarten iQ?? It was all a little much for me.
Condescension seeps into how Christine describes the other people she encounters. For example, as she begins her hike, Christine must spend a night in a campground near her trail entrance spot and share the space with families car camping. I totally relate to wanting a quiet retreat from nature and feeling it is being disturbed by a large group of campers with loud kids. I think Christine had a right to be disappointed in that situation, I've been there myself. But, I felt the way the situation was described was very superior. It felt, via her description, that Christine was more than just disappointed by how populated the area was. Her tone indicated that as a backpacker, was BETTER than these families. Part of the frustration was in having to spend the night around an inferior type of camper. I found many other moments like this seeped into the narrative of the story. Christine Reed often described people, particularly working class people, with a subtle distain.
This subtle distain and self aggrandizement, for me really took the enjoyment out of the book. I regret paying for it and I was unable to finish it. Considering that I haven't read the ending, I'm willing to admit that this review is incomplete. Perhaps in the last half of the book Christine Reed faces her privilege and superiority head on and is changed by her experience on the trail to become a more humble person. But that seems unlikely to me, a more humble person would have told her story differently.
I do think that Reed tried to address some of the issues a woman alone can face while hiking . She talks about some of the difficulties that a woman in a predominately male space can have. I absolutely agree that those issues deserve examination and empathy. But, this examination only goes as far as herself. The empathy Reed asks us to have is meant for young, white, able bodied, middle class women like herself.
I just think that we need to remember as hikers, as hard and as admirable as it is to hike a trail in this way, it is also a privilege. Hiking requires an amount of money and time that not everyone has to spend. It requires a level of physical fitness and abled bodiedness not everyone possesses. It asks one to take a risk of personal safety that not everyone is at equal advantage to risk. No one is better, or cooler, or harder working because they are a through hiker. They just have more access to the privilege that is hiking. We can celebrate our hiking accomplishments without diminishing others. Hiking is an opportunity to be humbled by nature, not to brag about what you've done.
Right from the prologue the tone is very self aggrandizing. A few pages into this book and we are told in first person how Christine Reed could have been a doctor, how she matches with sexy professionals on tinder, how living in a van -something some people have to do to survive- is a quirky and free spirited choice for her. We even get a brag about her kindergarten iQ?? It was all a little much for me.
Condescension seeps into how Christine describes the other people she encounters. For example, as she begins her hike, Christine must spend a night in a campground near her trail entrance spot and share the space with families car camping. I totally relate to wanting a quiet retreat from nature and feeling it is being disturbed by a large group of campers with loud kids. I think Christine had a right to be disappointed in that situation, I've been there myself. But, I felt the way the situation was described was very superior. It felt, via her description, that Christine was more than just disappointed by how populated the area was. Her tone indicated that as a backpacker, was BETTER than these families. Part of the frustration was in having to spend the night around an inferior type of camper. I found many other moments like this seeped into the narrative of the story. Christine Reed often described people, particularly working class people, with a subtle distain.
This subtle distain and self aggrandizement, for me really took the enjoyment out of the book. I regret paying for it and I was unable to finish it. Considering that I haven't read the ending, I'm willing to admit that this review is incomplete. Perhaps in the last half of the book Christine Reed faces her privilege and superiority head on and is changed by her experience on the trail to become a more humble person. But that seems unlikely to me, a more humble person would have told her story differently.
I do think that Reed tried to address some of the issues a woman alone can face while hiking . She talks about some of the difficulties that a woman in a predominately male space can have. I absolutely agree that those issues deserve examination and empathy. But, this examination only goes as far as herself. The empathy Reed asks us to have is meant for young, white, able bodied, middle class women like herself.
I just think that we need to remember as hikers, as hard and as admirable as it is to hike a trail in this way, it is also a privilege. Hiking requires an amount of money and time that not everyone has to spend. It requires a level of physical fitness and abled bodiedness not everyone possesses. It asks one to take a risk of personal safety that not everyone is at equal advantage to risk. No one is better, or cooler, or harder working because they are a through hiker. They just have more access to the privilege that is hiking. We can celebrate our hiking accomplishments without diminishing others. Hiking is an opportunity to be humbled by nature, not to brag about what you've done.
February 6, 2023
I really wanted to like this book, as I enjoy reading about people’s solo adventures, but the author came off as both whiny and self-centered. She claimed she wanted to hike to become more of an independent woman, yet she constantly was looking to hook up with any eligible male who crossed her path. She was judgmental of others - people were too old, or she didn’t like the way they looked at her, or she didn’t like the way they told her about the next thing to watch for on the trail. She said she didn’t want to be a “Negative Nancy” but that is exactly how she often sounded. One minute she wanted to be alone, and the next she was lonely. Oh, woe is me. She couldn’t even step up to contact her best friend when the friend's mother died because it wasn’t the same as when her own mother died (eye roll.) That’s not friendship, that’s being self-absorbed.
December 27, 2020
Having read through Alone in Wonderland more than once during the editing process, I had the joy of watching this story evolve from a simple narrative to a dynamic excavation of Christine’s past to uncover the moments where creaky doors closed and new doors opened that led her to brand new places and a whole new identity. I met Christine in Yosemite when she was just embarking on her journey away from the life she was ready to transform, and it has been a joy to watch her evolve in person as well as to celebrate her transformation here on paper. Alone in Wonderland will take you on a journey that will remind you there are so many ways to live a life, that it’s your decision what path you’ll choose, and you never know what will be waiting for you around the corner.
June 8, 2024
3.5 stars (can Goodreads PLEASE adopt a half star system already?)
Let me preface this review by saying that I did not like this book at first. I found the author irksome with her lack of self respect and apathy at life, and I didn’t enjoy the alternating chapters between the Wonderland trail and her past. I signed up for a hiking memoir, after all. Though the thought of DNFing the book briefly crossed my mind, I pushed through, and found that she immensely grew on me the more I read.
Though her journey of self exploration and finding herself was vastly different than anything I’ve chosen to experience, we all grow up emotionally in our own ways. The feeling of being lost and unsure in her own skin IS something I can feel akin to, all too well. Another reason I grew to like and respect her is that I felt a camaraderie develop as she poetically described the nature around her, and the fact that she was not a hardcore hiker but someone on a trail for the love of the outdoors. The mesmerizing beauty of our natural world only seems to be appreciated by a select group of souls, and I definitely felt a kindred spirit with her.
Let me preface this review by saying that I did not like this book at first. I found the author irksome with her lack of self respect and apathy at life, and I didn’t enjoy the alternating chapters between the Wonderland trail and her past. I signed up for a hiking memoir, after all. Though the thought of DNFing the book briefly crossed my mind, I pushed through, and found that she immensely grew on me the more I read.
Though her journey of self exploration and finding herself was vastly different than anything I’ve chosen to experience, we all grow up emotionally in our own ways. The feeling of being lost and unsure in her own skin IS something I can feel akin to, all too well. Another reason I grew to like and respect her is that I felt a camaraderie develop as she poetically described the nature around her, and the fact that she was not a hardcore hiker but someone on a trail for the love of the outdoors. The mesmerizing beauty of our natural world only seems to be appreciated by a select group of souls, and I definitely felt a kindred spirit with her.
February 28, 2023
I wanted to like this book, I really did. As a fellow “independent woman” who has repeatedly strived to take the road less followed, I feel a certain camaraderie with the author; that quiet disappointment when another woman asks if you’re afraid of being alone out on the trail, or asks if you’re bringing a weapon on your thru hike.
But the author leaves a pervasive and stubborn trail of judgment throughout each and every interaction in the book. Friendly day hikers? Trying too hard and shouldn’t speak words of encouragement. A group of hikers at a shelter that don’t want to talk much? Rude and uninviting. Even waitresses and park rangers cannot be spared from her perch of negativity.
I struggled to get through this book as the negativity continued to increase. My motivations for reading were initially that sense of camaraderie; by the end, I found myself skipping to descriptions of the trail, eager to relive my own hike of the Wonderland Trail just 1 month after the author’s in 2018.
I hope this woman finds what she is looking for. Maybe a life lived with less of a focus on judgment, and more of the openness she pretends to exude.
But the author leaves a pervasive and stubborn trail of judgment throughout each and every interaction in the book. Friendly day hikers? Trying too hard and shouldn’t speak words of encouragement. A group of hikers at a shelter that don’t want to talk much? Rude and uninviting. Even waitresses and park rangers cannot be spared from her perch of negativity.
I struggled to get through this book as the negativity continued to increase. My motivations for reading were initially that sense of camaraderie; by the end, I found myself skipping to descriptions of the trail, eager to relive my own hike of the Wonderland Trail just 1 month after the author’s in 2018.
I hope this woman finds what she is looking for. Maybe a life lived with less of a focus on judgment, and more of the openness she pretends to exude.
November 7, 2023
I liked the hiking part of the story and her telling about the day, what she saw, who she ran into, and the challenges. I wish the book was more about the hiking part, but I can’t control what is in a book. I’ve been looking for a book that’s mainly about the experience hiking a trail, and I still haven’t found it.
On the back of the book, it says “Alone in Wonderland is a story about backpacking but it’s also a story about” and then lists many words. The first word is independence. I have to disagree. Throughout the entire book she was always looking for someone else. She shared a tent with a guy she met and then felt jealous the next day when he and a female hiker hiked off together because they had the same ending point. Later she talks about how being lazy on a rainy day is better with a snuggle buddy and making food for two. Yes she did this trail alone, but she seemed to always wish to have someone with her. I can’t believe how quickly she jumps into bed with someone and then feels upset when they leave. It appears she doesn’t learn from her past experiences. I was hoping she would find more respect for herself and what she is capable of doing, but it seems that is still a work in progress.
On the back of the book, it says “Alone in Wonderland is a story about backpacking but it’s also a story about” and then lists many words. The first word is independence. I have to disagree. Throughout the entire book she was always looking for someone else. She shared a tent with a guy she met and then felt jealous the next day when he and a female hiker hiked off together because they had the same ending point. Later she talks about how being lazy on a rainy day is better with a snuggle buddy and making food for two. Yes she did this trail alone, but she seemed to always wish to have someone with her. I can’t believe how quickly she jumps into bed with someone and then feels upset when they leave. It appears she doesn’t learn from her past experiences. I was hoping she would find more respect for herself and what she is capable of doing, but it seems that is still a work in progress.
July 16, 2022
I’m having a hard time with this one, because my feelings toward the book are based on my expectations as a reader and of the author – and is it fair for me to have expectations of her growth, development, perspective, etc? I don’t know.
If you pick up this book, simply do so with the expectation to read a collection of stories that were likely very important for this author to share. I would not expect to take much away in return, whether specific to hiking, personal growth, grief, or other topics.
If you pick up this book, simply do so with the expectation to read a collection of stories that were likely very important for this author to share. I would not expect to take much away in return, whether specific to hiking, personal growth, grief, or other topics.
June 30, 2021
Some parts of this book worked well, like the author’s wealth of personal experience that comes out in the pages. That made for a great foundation that poked through in the book every so often, along with streamlined and consistent prose.
I really struggled with the more basic elements of this book. Short of a diary-esque self reflection, I never really felt like the author knew why this book was being written, in much the same way that there wasn’t a real purpose behind much of what she did in the various phases of life explored in the book. Even through the last couple chapters, the author continues waffling between some assertion of independence and a nebulous yearning for companionship. Almost every reflection about the author’s mother, stunted relationships, and other personal motifs seemed underdeveloped and frustratingly half a paragraph short while heading in the right direction.
Perhaps most importantly, there wasn’t nearly enough of either the AT experience or the Wonderland trail in this book. Neither of them may have had enough in them to support a book by themselves, but I expected more scenes drawing some connection between the park’s landscape and the author’s internal struggles. Instead, it felt like there were only a few thrown-in stingers at the end of a few chapters pulling together theme elements that came and went hastily. About 1/2 of the way through the book I had begun to feel like the author’s experience on the AT was going to constitute more of the story than the advertised Wonderland, and it was growing into an interesting enough thread to follow.
There is plenty of great base material to work with, between past trauma, unorthodox living, and the great outdoors. This book felt like it took a scoop of each but didn’t mix them nearly enough before throwing it in the oven and guessing on the time.
I really struggled with the more basic elements of this book. Short of a diary-esque self reflection, I never really felt like the author knew why this book was being written, in much the same way that there wasn’t a real purpose behind much of what she did in the various phases of life explored in the book. Even through the last couple chapters, the author continues waffling between some assertion of independence and a nebulous yearning for companionship. Almost every reflection about the author’s mother, stunted relationships, and other personal motifs seemed underdeveloped and frustratingly half a paragraph short while heading in the right direction.
Perhaps most importantly, there wasn’t nearly enough of either the AT experience or the Wonderland trail in this book. Neither of them may have had enough in them to support a book by themselves, but I expected more scenes drawing some connection between the park’s landscape and the author’s internal struggles. Instead, it felt like there were only a few thrown-in stingers at the end of a few chapters pulling together theme elements that came and went hastily. About 1/2 of the way through the book I had begun to feel like the author’s experience on the AT was going to constitute more of the story than the advertised Wonderland, and it was growing into an interesting enough thread to follow.
There is plenty of great base material to work with, between past trauma, unorthodox living, and the great outdoors. This book felt like it took a scoop of each but didn’t mix them nearly enough before throwing it in the oven and guessing on the time.
February 5, 2021
A thoughtful and provocative memoir.
Christine takes us on a lot of journeys. From her snap decision to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, to all the planning and preparation, to leaving the trail upon the death of her mother to her thought provoking final hike (in this book) on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier.
Battling grief, loneliness, a need for physical comfort from men but an inability to attach herself and struggling with the hopes her parents had for and becoming the woman she needs to be and at times just wanting to escape it all.
At times I felt she was brave beyond anything I would have dared and at times I wondered how she could make that decision.
Christine takes us from childhood to college, from working in jobs she didn’t like to hiking the AT, living The Vanlife, and finally, learning a lot about herself in the relatively short distance of The Wonderland.
Personally after reading this, I will speak more carefully to any solo woman I encounter, on the trail, on the road or in a store. Most men have no idea the concerns we can cause with even the most innocent questions.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and I had high hopes for it going in.
This is a great read!
Christine takes us on a lot of journeys. From her snap decision to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, to all the planning and preparation, to leaving the trail upon the death of her mother to her thought provoking final hike (in this book) on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier.
Battling grief, loneliness, a need for physical comfort from men but an inability to attach herself and struggling with the hopes her parents had for and becoming the woman she needs to be and at times just wanting to escape it all.
At times I felt she was brave beyond anything I would have dared and at times I wondered how she could make that decision.
Christine takes us from childhood to college, from working in jobs she didn’t like to hiking the AT, living The Vanlife, and finally, learning a lot about herself in the relatively short distance of The Wonderland.
Personally after reading this, I will speak more carefully to any solo woman I encounter, on the trail, on the road or in a store. Most men have no idea the concerns we can cause with even the most innocent questions.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and I had high hopes for it going in.
This is a great read!
July 26, 2021
Read this while hiking around Rainier and was excited about it. I was hoping for a woman’s hiking memoir that did not involve constantly looking for men or acceptance. I was disappointed as this was exactly that. I found her whining about her body (with no physical issues mentioned), complaining about her mom though she loved her and the constant need for attention whether a man or women to hang with too much. She was unprepared for the trail, I mean no first aid kit? Would not recommend if you are looking for something different.
October 7, 2022
I try to be kind with trail memoir reviews because they’re often personal accounts of profound experiences. However, this book reminded me when a stranger starts emotionally dumping on you after only a few minutes of small talk. The story jumped too often between her Wonderland hike and her past trauma, and it felt like each got an equal amount of pages, where I would have preferred more about her hike.
April 16, 2021
Christine Reed says in her splendid book ALONE IN WONDERLAND that "...becoming a hiker isn't about enjoying a long walk up a mountain, rather the self-exploration you pursue along the way." (p.84) She has plenty of life experience to explore, as we find early on--van life, a spontaneous try at paragliding, backpacking, and a history of calamitous relationships, as well as profound insight into her longing for love. With candor and emotional intelligence, she delves into deep questions of self-determination, boundaries, and independence. Reed writes with vivid originality, as of the details of a sexual assault: "I felt certain this information was kept under lock and key in someone else's memory." (p.39). The Wonderland Trail itself unfolds as a metaphor for her search for her "personal unknown" as well as a true unknown larger than herself. As Lady Unicorn, her trail name, she engages with other hikers along the way and shares her unique perspective and sense of humor about the many dimensions of life on the trail. I particularly like how she alternates chapters of her hike with those of her life, a wide range of experiences from her relationships with her parents to experimentation with polyamory to facing her fears. Reed's ALONE IN WONDERLAND is ultimately a compelling story of transformation, beautifully articulated: "The trail didn't know who you were before you got there--it allowed for reinvention." (p.82)
March 2, 2021
A fascinating story. Christine Reed interleaves two stories, alternating chapters between the story of her hike around the Wonderland Trail and that of her life leading up to to the hike, including her uncompleted thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. She switches back and forth smoothly.
Christine writes well. I read the book pretty much in one sitting. The interleaved stories move along steadily. My only negative would be that the transition to the resolution at the end seemed rushed. I could wish she had spent more time describing her thought process.
Christine writes well. I read the book pretty much in one sitting. The interleaved stories move along steadily. My only negative would be that the transition to the resolution at the end seemed rushed. I could wish she had spent more time describing her thought process.
February 12, 2022
Christine Reed can tell a story. I laughed out loud one moment, and then moments later, I was pondering on her perfectly written words. I'm a fan for life and I can't wait for her next book. - Derick Lugo
September 9, 2022
Really didn't enjoy this book. There really isn't a whole lot about backpacking. Mostly just her judging everyone she comes across/ analyzing whether or not she should sleep with every dude in her path. She also just totally zings her parents throughout the whole book who aren't bad ppl.
May 31, 2023
Okay, this book has been in my "reading" list for more than a year and a half. I need to call it - DNF. I forced myself with gritted teeth to make it to 25%, and I hated every minute of it.
I'm a prolific hiker and backpacker and thought this could be an interesting jaunt. I'm also an ardent reader - I read ~175 books last year alone. Sadly, this book is my first DNF in at least a decade. I can grit my teeth through almost anything - I really like finishing my chosen books, but this book was just painful through and through.
Our main character is NOT likable - she's selfish and judgemental to the point of absurdity. I felt no sympathy or compassion for her life circumstances because she represented herself so poorly. The attitude of the writing was so entitled that I found myself closing and slamming the book on the ground after resisting the urge to throw it across the room.
Books are supposed to be a good date, at the very least. This book failed to deliver an interesting story or reward me in any way for being present to its narrative. It felt like a punishment to read it. Just because the author needed to write it doesn't mean it needed to be published or that I need to read it.
I'm a prolific hiker and backpacker and thought this could be an interesting jaunt. I'm also an ardent reader - I read ~175 books last year alone. Sadly, this book is my first DNF in at least a decade. I can grit my teeth through almost anything - I really like finishing my chosen books, but this book was just painful through and through.
Our main character is NOT likable - she's selfish and judgemental to the point of absurdity. I felt no sympathy or compassion for her life circumstances because she represented herself so poorly. The attitude of the writing was so entitled that I found myself closing and slamming the book on the ground after resisting the urge to throw it across the room.
Books are supposed to be a good date, at the very least. This book failed to deliver an interesting story or reward me in any way for being present to its narrative. It felt like a punishment to read it. Just because the author needed to write it doesn't mean it needed to be published or that I need to read it.
February 12, 2022
This one is hard to rate with stars and or a review. With trying to sound as nonjudgmental as possible, there are many cringeworthy parts- mostly involving men.. all. the. men.. and her references to her parents. Did they in fact have a good relationship? Did she really like and respect her parents? Did her parents respect her? So many questions there.
Also, the author does come off a bit narcissistic, maybe a bit arrogant. But, I do applaud her for her vulnerability and honesty in her book. It has to take guts to put out in to the world all of her plights and struggles.
Also, the author does come off a bit narcissistic, maybe a bit arrogant. But, I do applaud her for her vulnerability and honesty in her book. It has to take guts to put out in to the world all of her plights and struggles.
Read
February 4, 2021Alone in Wonderland is an absolute must read for all outdoor enthusiasts. It touches on the minds and hearts of those who seek to define themselves outside of preconceived social norms. Finding meaning in discomfort and beauty creates a polarizing reality that haunts one with self doubt, but ultimately leads to clarity. I saw myself in many aspects of this book, and felt a connection to the message. Give this a read and perhaps you'll find a piece of yourself as well.
January 1, 2023
I enjoyed reading the book. I’m glad Christine shared her story.
I feel compelled to say this…after reading page 144 and 145…Reflection Lakes is a protected body of water. The shoreline is fragile. Swimming and wading is not permitted at Reflection Lakes.
I feel compelled to say this…after reading page 144 and 145…Reflection Lakes is a protected body of water. The shoreline is fragile. Swimming and wading is not permitted at Reflection Lakes.
January 2, 2023
A memoir about a solo woman backpacker? At Mt. Rainier? This should be perfect for me!
Alas, while the author claims to prioritize independence, she spends the majority of the book looking for her next hookup. (Also, no first aid kit?!) While I can appreciate that the author can want both connection and independence, there is no exploration of the contradiction. The same lack of exploration can be said of a lot of the themes she brings up in the book.
Alas, while the author claims to prioritize independence, she spends the majority of the book looking for her next hookup. (Also, no first aid kit?!) While I can appreciate that the author can want both connection and independence, there is no exploration of the contradiction. The same lack of exploration can be said of a lot of the themes she brings up in the book.
August 12, 2022
Hiker memoirs are my favorite type and this one had a unique layout that kept me curious. It felt personal. Totally engaging and enjoyable read.
To the author: Thanks Christine for leaving signed books at Pass Gass! I could not have been more stoked to open your book and realize I'd struck gold with an autographed copy!
To the author: Thanks Christine for leaving signed books at Pass Gass! I could not have been more stoked to open your book and realize I'd struck gold with an autographed copy!
February 5, 2021
I never write reviews; until now. This book isn't just about hiking and backpacking. This is life. We should listen to that voice when we are sitting in an office daydreaming about where we really want to be. Christine has encouraged me to get out there and start plodding!
July 8, 2023
very inspirational book but I agree with the other reviews that the main character was whiny…I felt it there was no real ending/wasn’t wrapped up…not my usual type of book but I enjoyed reading the story
April 20, 2022
Self Centered and boring..
March 1, 2021
A fantastic debut! Alone in Wonderland is a beautiful and honest look into the life of a woman, that I think, many of us can relate to. It is a book about backpacking but it's really about so much more. It's a story about heading out into the world in search of one thing and in the end realizing it was something else you were searching for all along. Anyone who has ever questioned their path in life will find themselves in these pages.
March 29, 2024
I’m updating this review in real time because as much as I like the Goodreads option of being able to track my book activity and progress with status updates, my grievances towards Alone in Wonderland far exceed the app’s character limit for status updates. And I have a lot to say
I really want to like this book. As a fan of memoirs and solo hiking, I was excited to delve into a well-written and meaningful story that gracefully explores the life lessons that can be learned from solitude in the natural world
Perhaps my expectations were too high because instead, I found myself extremely disappointed as I was painfully subjected to a shallow, self-indulgent, whiny account that reeks of desperation and ironically focuses a little too much on failed relationships and interactions, especially with men
I’m tempted to stop reading, but I’m hoping that this horrible start is setting the author up for immense growth and self-realization. Otherwise, this entire narrative should have just been another series of TikTok videos
Page 30:
Annoying. Currently reading Alone in Wonderland in the tone of a whiny Millennial who thinks that they are profoundly unique when really, their thirst to be different from everyone else makes them exactly like everyone else in an attention-seeking, in my #vanlife era kind of way
I hope it gets better
Page 85:
It’s not getting any better
After recently being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing chemo, Christine Reed’s mother has an understandably apprehensive reaction towards Reed’s arguably frivolous and impulsive desire to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail as a somewhat inexperienced hiker
Christine Reed’s response?
“Stop being such a drama queen. You’re not dying! I’m twenty-three years old. I need to live my life. I can’t hang around here waiting for you to die. Why don’t you just tell me when you’re going to die, and I’ll make sure to be there!”
For the sake of Alone in Wonderland and humanity as a whole, I hope that this is Reed’s rock bottom and that she can only go up from here
Page 107:
I’m putting Alone in Wonderland on hold in favor of Wild by Cheryl Strayed. So far, the first 5 pages of Wild has more depth and interest than the 107 pages of Alone in Wonderland that I have stubbornly made it through and I feel that Wild is more along the lines of what I am looking for as a reader
Perhaps I will return to Alone in Wonderland someday and will find something positive to include in this review
I really want to like this book. As a fan of memoirs and solo hiking, I was excited to delve into a well-written and meaningful story that gracefully explores the life lessons that can be learned from solitude in the natural world
Perhaps my expectations were too high because instead, I found myself extremely disappointed as I was painfully subjected to a shallow, self-indulgent, whiny account that reeks of desperation and ironically focuses a little too much on failed relationships and interactions, especially with men
I’m tempted to stop reading, but I’m hoping that this horrible start is setting the author up for immense growth and self-realization. Otherwise, this entire narrative should have just been another series of TikTok videos
Page 30:
Annoying. Currently reading Alone in Wonderland in the tone of a whiny Millennial who thinks that they are profoundly unique when really, their thirst to be different from everyone else makes them exactly like everyone else in an attention-seeking, in my #vanlife era kind of way
I hope it gets better
Page 85:
It’s not getting any better
After recently being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing chemo, Christine Reed’s mother has an understandably apprehensive reaction towards Reed’s arguably frivolous and impulsive desire to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail as a somewhat inexperienced hiker
Christine Reed’s response?
“Stop being such a drama queen. You’re not dying! I’m twenty-three years old. I need to live my life. I can’t hang around here waiting for you to die. Why don’t you just tell me when you’re going to die, and I’ll make sure to be there!”
For the sake of Alone in Wonderland and humanity as a whole, I hope that this is Reed’s rock bottom and that she can only go up from here
Page 107:
I’m putting Alone in Wonderland on hold in favor of Wild by Cheryl Strayed. So far, the first 5 pages of Wild has more depth and interest than the 107 pages of Alone in Wonderland that I have stubbornly made it through and I feel that Wild is more along the lines of what I am looking for as a reader
Perhaps I will return to Alone in Wonderland someday and will find something positive to include in this review
April 19, 2024
Oof. There were parts of this memoir that were hard to stomach - and probably not in the manner suggested on the back cover.
I'd like to start in saying I appreciated reading a hiking memoir that wasn't the PCT/AT (well sort of!). Reed also seemed to have a more relatable attitude about hiking, and acknowledged that it's still difficult for her. The dual timelines worked for me. Trail memoirs can run the risk of sleep, eat, hike and not much more, but that wasn't a problem here.
Problems:
- I couldn't tell exactly why Reed was, well, so desperate to not be her mother. I'm not sure if there was some other factors that would make this more understanable, but I just felt like she hated her, like a lot.
- For someone talking a LOT about independence, she spent a lot of time trying not to be alone. Even when she didn't seem to really like the other person!
- The, in my opinion, classic critique of stories such as these is the elitism of the hiker experience above all others. Disappoint in being near day hikers or (gasp) people who drove vehicles to the park is just so boring and yuck. There is privilege in having the time, physical ability, financial resources, and much more that allows folks to thru hike. No one is more deserving of time in nature.
Overall I think it's worth the read.
I'd like to start in saying I appreciated reading a hiking memoir that wasn't the PCT/AT (well sort of!). Reed also seemed to have a more relatable attitude about hiking, and acknowledged that it's still difficult for her. The dual timelines worked for me. Trail memoirs can run the risk of sleep, eat, hike and not much more, but that wasn't a problem here.
Problems:
- I couldn't tell exactly why Reed was, well, so desperate to not be her mother. I'm not sure if there was some other factors that would make this more understanable, but I just felt like she hated her, like a lot.
- For someone talking a LOT about independence, she spent a lot of time trying not to be alone. Even when she didn't seem to really like the other person!
- The, in my opinion, classic critique of stories such as these is the elitism of the hiker experience above all others. Disappoint in being near day hikers or (gasp) people who drove vehicles to the park is just so boring and yuck. There is privilege in having the time, physical ability, financial resources, and much more that allows folks to thru hike. No one is more deserving of time in nature.
Overall I think it's worth the read.
March 7, 2021
I confess that I am someone who always reaches for fiction first. After reading Christine’s memoir, Alone in Wonderland, I may second guess that urge. This is a book I will aggressively recommend to every person I know. No story I’ve read, in any genre, has been able to capture the specific breed of social doubt, the isolating otherness that comes with feeling out of place in a room crowded with confident, vibrant people. The seemingly aimless and fruitless search to find identity; to find comfort in oneself, alone and with others.
Picking up a book “about backpacking,” I hadn’t expected to see much of myself. Page after page I was constantly touched and surprised to resonate. Because this isn’t a book about backpacking really. It’s a woman’s story. A daughter’s story. A human story. A story that had me vibrating with empathy, a hunger to turn the next page, and which has left me with the satisfied and wistful fog of wonderment that every good book achieves.
Christine, if you read this: the next time you’re in Denver and the world isn’t shit, lunch is on me.
Picking up a book “about backpacking,” I hadn’t expected to see much of myself. Page after page I was constantly touched and surprised to resonate. Because this isn’t a book about backpacking really. It’s a woman’s story. A daughter’s story. A human story. A story that had me vibrating with empathy, a hunger to turn the next page, and which has left me with the satisfied and wistful fog of wonderment that every good book achieves.
Christine, if you read this: the next time you’re in Denver and the world isn’t shit, lunch is on me.
January 3, 2024
Having also done the Wonderland Trail, I’d hoped to reminisce about the route and appreciate the overlap and diversions of someone else’s experience there and perhaps deepen my understand and perspective about what it takes to make the trek. Disappointingly, the book was not really about the Wonderland Trail or hiking at all—the number of references to the landscape and its tremendous features were thin in number and detail. Instead, Wonderland is simply a backdrop; the narrative focuses relationship errors and insecurities (both romantic and otherwise)—and in an exasperatingly juvenile tone that seems to simultaneously ask for sympathy and approbation. I was embarrassed by several of the on-trail social interactions the narrator describes; she is the kind of trail user I hope to avoid—lacking preparation, perception, boundaries, and self-awareness (though I wonder whether this book is intended as an announcement of some sort of self-awareness).
March 29, 2021
I loved this book so much! It had really relatable stories even though I’m no hardcore hiker (but neither was she when she started) and I absolutely haven’t ever dreamt of living in a van. I love that Christine poured herself into this story and let us see the raw emotion she felt.
I love that this book was real life. I genuinely wonder how she’s doing, how her dad is, and how she’s coping. Does she still live in the van? Has she done anymore backpacking trips. Has she regretted the van life?
Read this book. You won’t be sorry.
I love that this book was real life. I genuinely wonder how she’s doing, how her dad is, and how she’s coping. Does she still live in the van? Has she done anymore backpacking trips. Has she regretted the van life?
Read this book. You won’t be sorry.
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