Book Review #2: Alone in Wonderland

I love this new feature I am doing on my blog. Today's spotlight is written by Christine Reed another wonderful author we met at Trail Days. She is a lively gal full of spunk with a heart the size of St. Andrea's Fault and when it break's, it feels just as devastating.

Bruce and I were reading Nancy East's book (my first book review), Christine's book, and another book simultaneously for a few days. We finished Nancy's book on a long day trip to visit Baxter State Park. Since Christine's book was shorter than the other book we were also reading, we decided to knock her's off. We finished each day with our new routine of cuddling on the couch or on the bed to take a trip wherever the book-journey led us.

The back cover and bookmaker for Alone in Wonderland states the book is a story about backpacking. Then it goes on to list all the other read-between-the-line messages.

Christine openly shares her deepest secrets, fears, and challenges in figuring out the woman she is and who she wants to become. Her honesty I am sure will help anyone, male or female, realize the struggles they go through in becoming, happen to all of us in some form or another and that you don't have to go it alone.

While this true story takes the reader on an adventure backpacking the Appalachian Trail and the Wonderland Trail, it reads like a love story, as well as a self-help crash course all typed up into one fantastic read. The pages are filled with everything listed above. At times as I read aloud to Bruce, I had to stop to gain composure as my heart was aching and tears leaked from my eyes.

Bruce and I spent three days with Christine under the author tent at Trail Days. We watched as her fan club visited her table and were thrilled to finally meet her. Seeing Christine interact with them with such love and kindness as she exuded confidence, one would never have known the struggles she endured to get to that point. We didn't know until we read her book.

It reminds me of something I learned long ago when I was reading a self-help book. We should never do any of the big "C's" Condemn, Complain, or Compare. It is the compare that I am referring too. How often do we look at someone and say things like, "I wish I could do that." "I wish I was more brave like that." "I wish I could be like that." And so on. We don't know what is going on or has gone on behind the scenes of life for that person we are emulating. We are comparing our worst attributes against what we are seeing in them - their best attributes. And that's not fair for either party.

Life is hard, it is a struggle. But it is in the trials of life, we grow, we learn, we become. It's through all those struggles that we discover who we really are and who we can become and in hindsight, who we really were all along. And if you really think you have no one to share with, there is always the big book, the Bible, you can reach to for help. Philippians 4:13 says, I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me.

Christine felt alone through her struggles and she so bravely wrote down her story in Alone in Wonderland. If you are struggling with something or know someone who is, grab a copy of her book and you will see you are not alone. Christine can be followed on Instagram @ruggedoutdoorswoman. Aloneinwonderland.com is her website.

Happy Hiking,

Emily