Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

In another Kristin Hannah sweeping tale (I’ve read The Nightingale and The Great Alone), two sisters hope to heal from the loss of one parent while becoming closer to the other parent. In between, Hannah leads us on a journey through present day Washington state and Alaska as well as war torn Leningrad.

There is some comfort in the predictable storyline of two sisters with opposite personalities. The older sister, Meredith, surrounds herself with a stable family life, eventually taking over the family apple harvesting business. The younger sister, Nina, a world renowned photographer, travels the world and lives like a gypsy.

Both daughters have a close relationship with their father. Their mother? Eh, not so much. Is there a reason for her lack of empathy and coldness towards her family?

“And maybe that was how it was supposed to be…Joy and sadness were part of the package; the trick, perhaps, was to let yourself feel all of it, but to hold on to the joy just a little more tightly…” -Kristin Hannah

As children, Meredith and Nina remember Anya’s fairy tales. It is the only bit of humanity they see within their distant and lonely mother. As adults, they ask their mother to finish one particular story. Throughout the remainder of the book, Anya illustrates the fairy tale. Is it real? Or is it a fairy tale? Read to find out the story of these women.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Part the Shining, part Romeo and Juliet. Set in the 1970s, this story revolves around a young family still reeling from the Vietnam War. The father, is a Vietnam veteran and was a prisoner of war. One of his war buddies died leaving behind his property in Alaska. His extended family calls Ernt and offers him the property. Lenora (Leni) and her family head to Alaska in hope that her father will find freedom and happiness especially from his nightmare.

Deeply evocative of the beauty and loneliness of Alaska. Hannah is adept at drawing the beauty and tragedy of life in Alaska. The seasons, the wildlife, the people. It’s a harsh life and not for the weak. If you love Alaska, don’t visit in the winter. The darkness delivers depression and desperation in full force, not only among the animals, but also the humans.

Leni, a bright well read strong young woman, wants her mother to leave her father. She won’t leave her mother behind, so she finds beauty and happiness in Alaska even though her home life is a nightmare. Eventually she finds love in a fellow Alaskan.

By camouflage, she learned to fit in, to survive.