The Great Alone Audiobook By Kristin Hannah cover art

The Great Alone

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Great Alone

By: Kristin Hannah
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.74

Buy for $24.74

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The number one New York Times best seller

The newest audiobook sensation from Kristin Hannah, best-selling author of The Nightingale.

This program is read by acclaimed narrator Julia Whelan, whose enchanting voice brought Gone Girl and Fates and Furies to life. Kristin Hannah reads the acknowledgements.

Alaska, 1974. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.

For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they 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 Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in 18 hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: They are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska - a place of incomparable beauty and danger.

The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night audiobook about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

Praise for The Great Alone:

"Listeners, beware: You won't want to stop listening to narrator Julia Whelan's performance of this complex story of survival and family.... With pitch-perfect timing and a touch of drama, Whelan exquisitely builds the tension, creating an enveloping atmosphere of foreboding that's difficult to turn away from...a don't miss audiobook experience." (AudioFile Magazine)

"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." (The New York Times Daily Review)

"Kristin Hannah's new novel makes Alaska sound equally gorgeous and treacherous - a glistening realm that lures folks into the wild and then kills them there." (The Washington Post)

©2017 Kristin Hannah (P)2017 Macmillan Audio
Family Life Fiction Alaska Heartfelt Feel-Good Thought-Provoking Suspenseful Wilderness Survival Stories
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Great Alone

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    40,453
  • 4 Stars
    8,749
  • 3 Stars
    2,238
  • 2 Stars
    574
  • 1 Stars
    310
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38,953
  • 4 Stars
    6,240
  • 3 Stars
    1,367
  • 2 Stars
    262
  • 1 Stars
    152
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35,681
  • 4 Stars
    7,823
  • 3 Stars
    2,305
  • 2 Stars
    653
  • 1 Stars
    350

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible experience

This is a love letter to Alaska and so much more. The vast, complex and unique cast of characters are expertly drawn by Kristin Hannah and brought to life by Julia Whelan. I was drawn into the story from the start and it was difficult to stop listening. It is a tale of love and triumph, tragedy, heartache and the struggle to survive. I felt the Alaskan wilderness come alive, the author put me there. This is a masterpiece that is enhanced by Julia Whelan’s narration. I will return again and again and will probably cry every time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Book I've "read" in years!

My sister got this book because I live in Alaska. She read it and couldn't stop raving about this deliciously beautiful, horrific, stunning, and poignant story. So, while visiting my hometown of Washington, DC, I bought it and fell in love with Lenny, Cora, Mathew, and the Walkers, and so many more characters that I could see the 1970's version of Alaska clearly. It made me laugh out loud, cry, tense, and pretty much run the the full gammet of emotion. The journey was so engrossing that I miss the characters now that I've completed this profoundly wonderful book. A must read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I tested up at the end

And was filled with Joy. This was a great book. Some people actually have had these hard lives but it’s beautiful who the daughter and mother were so close. Yes for a bit there co dependent. But back then it was just called sticking by those you love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Real Novel with twists that aren't always Happy

i loved the book for many reasons. It details the life of a family with a father home from Vietnam with PTSD. real life family struggles including domestic violence. eye opening insight as to why battered women stay in abusive relationships which was eye opening to me. and I really liked the description of Alaska and life in the out back, living off the land and the neighborly help that requires, people working together.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

There were times I could NOT turn it off !

Amazing story with perfect narration. I waited a long time to listen in spite of wonderful reviews, I didn't think it would be my "type" of book. But when it was my turn to pick for book club, this is the one I chose (I wanted company I guess). It is not an easy or light listen, and it was even hard to hear at times, but it held my attention every single second, and there were times that I just couldn't turn it off! This is high praise from me. I highly recommend this book and I think the narrator made it even better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another great Hannah book!

I loved The Nightingale and now I love The Great Alone! I wasn't sure a story set in Alaska would be interesting, but it was so fascinating. This book is informative as well as entertaining. I felt invested in these characters and didn't want to stop listening. It's heavy material at times, but it's also sweet. I didn't want it to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Will sneak up on you!

I absolutely loved this book! It wasn’t my typical go to for reading, or in this case, listening. It took me places I didn’t even see coming emotionality. It’s a beautifully written, yet harrowing tale. It was masterfully written with details and events which were woven together with so much grit, love and tenacity. It had me hovering somewhere between anxious and hopeful the entire time!
I cried, got angry, smacked my forehead and laughed out loud during the reading of this book. I give it a full five stars because it is an amazing story. Truthfully, it’s something you literally have to FEEL your way through.
I would definitely be interested in seeing what else this author has to offer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

Story will stay with me for a long time. The journey and description of Alaska kept me interested till the end. A wonderful saga of time and place.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Good beginning, middle, and end

Some people say we are all connected, never has a story made this more clear. Enduring love, pure and raw nature, adventure, deep community, and how we all have to learn to survive our own story. An amazing read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hardest nooks emotionally, to read, tears and Kleenex required

I almost stop reading it a half dizen times. I was so pulled in my my emotions to the characters and my on vested interest in there lives. I read 64 books last yr as an avid reader, I should say this has only happened one other time. Im sending my Mom a copy of this book for Mothers Sat, she was Cora and I Leny in sooo many ways...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!