The Great Alone Summary
Kristin Hannah

The Great Alone Overview

Kristin Hannah’s historical fiction novel The Great Alone tells the story of the Allbright family from 1974 to 1986. The family moves to Alaska to start a new life, but the extremity of the landscape tests each of them in different ways: father Ernt battles his Vietnam trauma, his alcoholism, and his paranoia; mother Cora struggles between her love for Ernt and her desire to protect her daughter; and daughter Leni struggles to chart a safe path to adulthood despite the violence and secrets of her family home. The novel explores diverse themes, including domestic violence, PTSD, the human search for belonging, loneliness, freedom, personal strength, community, grief, hope, and female strength. Above all, The Great Alone examines the many types of love, whether toxic or nurturing, familial or romantic, doomed or hopeful.