Strauss went through a metamorphosis from a carefree kid to a paranoid survival nut. Then, at the end of the book, he said that the skills he'd picked up were what allowed him to be confident that he could handle whatever came his way, if not physically then mentally. It was somewhat a surprise ending, for me at least, that he turned into what appears to be a mature adult that gives freely of himself using the skills and training that he acquired in preparing for the apocalypse. I found the book entertaining and enjoyed reading it.