Do you ever finish reading a book and find yourself lingering in the aftermath; Not being able to fully articulate how a book made you feel but causing you to hold to the story for a little while? That is The Great Alone for me. I loved this book. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. Gripping, emotional, heart wrenching, reassuring, unpredictable, and thought provoking. It’s the 1970s and 14 year old Leni and her parents, Cora and Ernt, run away to wild Alaska to escape the societal changes in the cities after the Vietnam War, which Ernt is a POW from. As a reader, the domestic violence and darkness portrayed in Ernt’s outbursts was at times hard to take. It is a major part of the story so you have to be ready. In Kaneq it was up to Cora and Leni, the mother-daughter duo, “two peas in a pod” to survive and protect themselves against their husband and father, because as the Alaska days got darker, so did he. This is a story of survival, love, and loss. It’s a story about finding yourself and overcoming the challenges that life throws you.

There is love between characters in this book that is so strong and so unbreakable.
“You don’t stop loving a person when they are hurt. You get stronger so they can lean on you.” But to what cost? Through years and years of abuse? At the risk of your own life? I don’t think anyone knows at first. You only know once you make the decision or maybe until you see the life of someone else you love just as deeply at stake.

This book made me cry because of the loss the characters experienced and how I can identify with that pain. But, it also made me smile because of the love they experienced and how blessed I am to be able to know that kind of love.
While I enjoyed The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah’s last book, I loved The Great Alone more. It was much more reminiscent to me of her previous books, like Winter Garden, which are the books I actually fell in love with first anyways.
From what I hear, The Nightingale and The Great Alone have been signed to movie deals so it will be interesting to see how they are portrayed on the big screen. For now I’m going to linger in my book hangover a little while longer.
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