The Great Alone: A Novel

#1 New York Times Instant Bestseller

In Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, a desperate family seeks a new beginning in the near-isolated wilderness of Alaska only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature.

Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future.

In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights 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 newcomers’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. 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.

Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam war, will be released on February 6, 2024.

The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore's bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.

In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.

In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster and was Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People's Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.

The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.

Praise for The Great Alone:

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller (February 2018) | A 2018 Indie Next Pick

One of...
Southern Living's "Books Coming Out This Winter That We Can't Wait to Read"
Pop Sugar's "10 Most Anticipated Books of 2018"
Working Mother's "Most Anticipated Books of 2018"
Brit & Co's "Most Anticipated Books of 2018"
Seattle Times' "Books to Look Forward to in 2018"
The Everygirl's "10 New Novels to Read this Winter"
Refinery 29's"Best Books of February"
BuzzFeed's"Most Anticipated Women's Fiction Reads of 2018"

"Featuring a rich cast of characters and elevated by the riveting portrayal of homesteading in Alaska in the 1970s, this is a compassionate story of a family." ―People, "Book of the Week"

"This epic atmospheric novel examines humans' will to endure the unthinkable." ―Real Simple magazine

"There are many great things about this book...It will thrill her fans with its combination of Greek tragedy, Romeo and Juliet-like coming of age story and domestic potboiler. She recreates in magical detail the lives of Alaska's homesteaders...and is just as specific and authentic in her depiction of the spiritual wounds of post-Vietnam America. A tour de force." ―Kirkus (starred review)

"Hannah vividly evokes the natural beauty and danger of Alaska and paints a compelling portrait of a family in crisis and a community on the brink of change." ―Booklist

"Reliably alluring...The Great Alone is packed with rapturous descriptions of Alaskan scenery… Hannah remembers and summons an undeveloped wilderness, describing a gloriously pristine region in the days before cruise ships discovered it." ―New York Times

"In this latest from Hannah, the landscape is hard and bleak but our young heroine learns to accept it and discover her true self...fans will appreciate the astuteness of the story and the unbreakable connection between mother and child." ―Library Journal

"Hannah skillfully situates the emotional family saga in the events and culture of the late ’70s... But it’s her tautly drawn characters―Large Marge, Genny, Mad Earl, Tica, Tom―who contribute not only to Leni’s improbable survival but to her salvation amid her family’s tragedy." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Hannah turns the written word into wonderful prose...Times are difficult for so many in this novel and Hannah captures their suffering with sensitivity. The author expertly shows how love, death and birth run the full circle of life." ―RT Book Reviews

Praise for The Nightingale:

"Haunting, action-packed, and compelling."―Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Absolutely riveting!...Read this book." ―Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Director of the University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute

"Beautifully written and richly evocative." ―Sara Gruen,#1 New York Times bestselling author

“A heart-pounding story.” ―USA Today

"A respectful and absorbing page-turner." ―Kirkus Reviews

“The Great Alone” is a moving and heartbreaking story about a family trying to survive in the wilds of Alaska while also surviving one another. It follows thirteen-year-old Leni Allbright, her mother Cora, and her father Ernt, a Vietnam War veteran whose trauma and instability grow more dangerous as the family’s isolation deepens.

The novel begins in1974, when the Allbrights leave Seattle and travel to the remote Alaska town of Kaneq after Ernt loses another job and decides that living off the grid will give the family a fresh start. At first, the move feels like an adventure, and the long summer days, close-knit neighbors, and raw beauty of Alaska offer hope that life might improve. But the family is woefully unprepared for the hardships ahead, and as winter approaches, the darkness and cold intensify the stress already building inside the cabin.

Leni is caught in the middle of everything. She is old enough to understand that her father is volatile, but still young enough to hope that things might somehow get better. Cora loves Ernt deeply and keeps believing that his worst periods will pass, so she often defends him even when his behavior becomes frightening and abusive. That tension gives the novel much of its emotional weight, because Leni is not only trying to grow up, but also trying to make sense of love in a home where love and violence are tangled together.

As the Allbrights settle into Alaska, they find support from the local community, especially from strong, self-reliant people who understand how hard survival can be in such a place. Leni begins to build her own life there, including a first love that offers her a glimpse of another future. Those moments of connection matter because they show that even in a harsh environment, tenderness and hope can still exist.

At the same time, Ernt’s mental state deteriorates further. His postwar trauma, paranoia, and dependence on control make him increasingly dangerous, and the family’s cabin becomes a place of fear rather than refuge. The novel makes clear that the greatest threat is not the wilderness outside, but the violence inside the home. This is where Kristin Hannah’s story becomes more than a survival tale; it becomes a portrait of domestic abuse, denial, and the impossible choices faced by the people who live with it.

The book moves over several years, tracing Leni’s coming of age as she learns what it means to endure hardship, loss, and betrayal. She is forced to grow up quickly, and her understanding of her parents becomes more complex as she sees both their love and their failures. Cora’s devotion to Ernt is one of the most painful parts of the novel, because it shows how love can trap someone in a destructive cycle even when escape is necessary.

By the end, the novel reaches a devastating but hopeful emotional climax. Leni is left to confront the consequences of the life her family has built, and the story shows how survival often requires painful separation from the people you love most. Even so, the ending also carries a sense of endurance and renewal, suggesting that healing is possible, though never easy.

“The Great Alone” is a powerful novel about trauma, resilience, family loyalty, and the brutal beauty of Alaska. It shows how the wilderness can test people, but also how human beings can be just as wild, dangerous, and difficult to survive. At its core, it is a story about a girl learning that love alone cannot save a broken family, and that real strength sometimes means finding the courage to leave.