Genre: Literature & Fiction
Length: 448 pages
Audiobook Length: 15 hours and 2 minutes
First Published: 2018
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Publisher’s Description
Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
Quotes from The Great Alone
A thing can be true and not the truth.
Alaska isn’t about who you were when you headed this way. It’s about who you become.
Books are the mile markers of my life. Some people have family photos or home movies to record their past. I’ve got books. Characters. For as long as I can remember, books have been my safe place.”
I think you stand by the people you love.
In the silence, Leni wondered if one person could ever really save another, or if it was the kind of thing you had to do for yourself.
About Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including The Great Alone, The Four Winds, The Nightingale, Winter Garden, Magic Hour, and Firefly Lane. Hannah was a lawyer before she turned author. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Visit the author’s website →
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