What's Your 'Alaska?'
It's not always sunshine and butterflies but isn't that what transforms us the most?
Tonight I finished Book 55 of 2025, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Kristin Hannah is one of my all-time favorite authors and this was the 4th book of hers I’ve read and arguably one of her more well-known novels. I’d say The Nightingale, The Great Alone and The Women are the ones I see the most people talk about as their favorites from her catalog. So far I’ve read all of those with the exception of The Women but I’m definitely going to give myself a bit of time before tackling that one. If you’ve read her work then you know she weaves these grand, sweeping tales by way of really long and equally really emotional books. A good idea to give each one some time to breathe in my opinion…
The Great Alone is about a family who ventures North to live off the harsh, gritty land in Alaska in the 1970s. The Dad in this story, Ernt, inherited property from a late friend of his whom he met during his time in Vietnam. Ernt was a POW during the war and unfortunately returned home a very different man than the one who left, ravaged by his own demons at the detriment of his family. The Great Alone follows Ernt, his wife Cora, and their daughter, Leni, as they acclimate to their new lives in the unforgiving Alaskan landscape and discover not all of their demons could simply be left behind with a fresh start.
(Image via Goodreads)
As with all of Hannah’s novels there are numerous thought-provoking quotes throughout. It’s impossible to read any one of her books and not be forced to take pause throughout, reading and re-reading these captivating lines.
One could argue that Alaska is a character in and of itself in The Great Alone. The landscape and the cast of supporting characters are crucial to the overall plot. Alaska transforms the main players in this story and shapes them into new versions of themselves.
Hannah says, “Alaska isn't about who you were when you headed this way. It's about who you become.”
For Ernt, Cora and Leni, living in Alaska is by far the most challenging experience they’ve ever had. They show up with no clue how to survive an Alaskan winter and in no time at all become embedded in the community and the landscape they thought for sure would kill them upon arrival. The most challenging thing in their family’s life ended up being the most revealing. For better or worse.
There was a “becoming” for Ernt, Cora and Leni, the Allbrights, in Alaska. The trials and tribulations they faced forever changed them as individuals as well as a family unit. But it was only through experiencing something so unequivocally difficult that they were able to see their truest selves. To become their truest selves.
It made me think of these kinds of experiences in my own life and I’d like to challenge you to do the same. Think back on your own trials and tribulations. We’ve all experienced them. While I’m sure you’d never want to go through any of the hardships that come to mind again, I bet you can recognize how truly transformative they were in your own life. It’s because of those hardships that you “became” who you are today. You entered a challenging time in your life as one person and came out on the other side of it someone completely different. In the best possible way.
If you can, take a moment to reflect on the “Alaska,” “The Great Alone,” in your own life. Living in Alaska was arguably the most transformative chapter in the Allbright’s lives, what was that for you? Perhaps you’re even in that season right now? It could be a move, a job change or loss, a breakup or friendship shift, the start of a new chapter. We all have our own version of moving to Alaska and learning to weather the storm (quite literally), but I’m sure if given the time to think about it we’d realize we’re better for it…
(Image via https://www.explorefairbanks.com/explore-the-area/winter-season/)