Brandon L. Deriso's Page

Upon finishing "Alaska" and taking in all of the ideas put forth near the ending of the book, I experienced a perspective on life that had not occurred to me before (not that I can recall anyway).

I felt that I was at once aware of my life in it's entirety, that is to say, I could see myself as I am now (living in the moment), and yet also as I had been when young(-er) and as I might become in old(-er) age.

Bear with me here: It was as if I had ceased to obsess over how my life had transpired until this point in time, and I also stopped worrying over what the future held in store for me (such as whether or not it would measure up to any notion of personal success).

This relates to "Alaska" in the notion that "the only way to survive in the labyrinth is to forgive", and so not to spend your life trying to justify your own existence and the actions of yourself and others, but to learn to live whilst knowing that life goes on, and all you do is to try your best to carve out your own path towards life.