Book Review of
The Great Alone

Lynn's Review

The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah was published in 2018. I was determined to read The Great Alone before starting Kristen Hannah’s latest book, The Women.

The Great Alone is a look at real life and the scars people carry.

A former Vietnam War POW moves his wife and daughter to Alaska, hoping to escape the pain and scars of the war. But does he have the strength to survive in the harsh environment of Alaska when he came so unprepared?  

Alaska is dark and cold for many months of the year. Locked in a cold, dark, small cabin for months tends to bring out the darkness in people even more. 

I think you either love Kristen Hannah’s historical fiction or hate it. Her writing takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. I happen to love her writing. 

Why do I love it? It reads like real life. I have heard people say that she draws out too much emotion. That she plays with you. I disagree. I think she writes like real in a way not many can. 

When I have heard people say that her writing is too tragic, emotional, and over the top, I sometimes wonder what kind of lives those people think are being lived all around us. 

Life is full of tragedy and heartache. Life is full of war, drugs, and alcohol. It is full of abuse.

It is full of mistakes and regrets. 

Are those terrible, awful things that none of us wish existed? Yes. Most definitely, yes. But they exist, and they will probably always exist. 

I love to read light, fun, clean fiction. After a book like this, I need it. But the reality is that my five-star fiction reads are always books just like this. 

The books that are my favorites, the ones that stick with me, are the ones that give you a glimpse of real life, not a made-up hopeful fairy tale. 

The thing my five-star fiction reads also have in common is that they don’t glorify evil. They show it as evil. They show the consequences it brings—the family trauma and scars that last for generations. 

I think books like The Great Alone remind you about the realities of life without glorifying the evils in life. Instead, they remind us what happens when choosing evil things in life. 

And here is where my Christianity shows through. Books like this remind me of why I and others need Christ. A life without hope will only be full of pain and suffering. 

Yes, that is why I, as a Christian, read books like this. These books make me think. They stick with me. They don’t glorify sin. They remind me why I need a Savoir. 

Is that Kristin Hannah’s intent when writing books like this? I highly doubt it. I am not sure Kristin Hannah would appreciate a spiritual take on a book like this, but I often get asked why I read books like this, so it was a good time to share some thoughts.