In 1974, Ernt Allbright moves his family, wife Cora and 13 year old daughter Leni to a cabin in Alaska. Ernt is a Vietnam vet, a former prisoner of war. After he came back, he was different, and his wife still hopes the man she fell in love with will return. However, instead she has a husband who drinks too much and who is abusive.
The Allbrights are totally unprepared for the wilderness of Alaska, but with the help of the people who live in their area, they soon have their home up to scratch. When Ernt beats the living daylights out of Cora, two locals step in. Big Marge, a former lawyer from Washington DC, and Tom Walker, a man whose family has lived in Alaska for generations. They make Ernt take a job away from the home during winter and he can come home during summer. Ernt absolutely hates Tom, and thinks he’s after Cora.
When Leni is 18, she reconnects with her friend Matthew, Tom’s son, and Ernt is hell bent against it. Matthew and Leni are madly in love though and after they almost die in an accident, Leni finds out she’s pregnant. She knows her father will be very upset about it…
This is another tearjerker by Kristin Hannah, and it’s masterfully executed. The description of Alaska, the wilderness, the danger, and the abusive Ernt Allbright all make this a very depressing story – and then there’s the love that blossoms between Matthew and Leni that brightens the tale.
Read for the A Librarian and her Books Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 22: Book about the Vietnam War
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️