Review: The Great Alone

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh my, the triggers in this book, there are just soo many for me to warn you of. PTSD, wife Abuse, Alcoholism, irrational behavior, child abuse-the list can go on and on. Yet I found this one of the most un-put-downable books I've read this month.

I will point out that this is a historical novel, starting in 1974 and continuing to 1978 then on to 1986.

This novel is about POW Ernt Allbright, his wife Cora, and their 13-year-old daughter Leni. Ernst comes home from the war, a changed man. He is volatile, prone to drink, and eventually uses his fists to voice his feelings. He impulsively moves his family to a very remote part of Alaska (remember this is the '70s) with no electricity, no plumbing, no phone, and no training on how to
live in the wilderness.

I lived through this time period, and you need to remember that PTSD didn't become recognized until the 1980s. Nor did a wife really have the right to defend herself from her abusive husband.

Quoted from research ----" The Supreme Court of Canada set a precedent for the use of the battered women defense in the 1990 case of R. v. Lavallee."

"In the mid-1970's the first battered women's shelters were opened in the United States and old ideas about women in the criminal justice system were challenged. The case of Yvonne Wanrow, decided by the Supreme Court of the State of Washington in 1977, was a pivotal advance for women in self defense cases."

This was a heart-rending book, and I must have been in the mood for something like this since I could not put it down and finished it in about 6 hours.

If you can handle the issues, then I fully recommend this book.

Spoilerish---->


And just in case you want to know, there is a bit of a happily ever after ending.


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