I think that’s the thread that connects me most with Hannah’s books. (Read Eve in Exile for a non-fiction bolstering of women)Īnother reviewer pointed this out and I never really reflected on it before, but all the other Kristin Hannah books I’ve read ( The Nightingale, Night Road, The Great Alone) explore the hardships faced by mothers and the strength, sacrifice, and resilience they have through them, or of the bond mothers have with their children. Mothers are warriors and what we do for our families is so important. A warrior fights for those weaker than herself. “A warrior believes in an end she can’t see and fights for it. I can’t imagine what it was like for mothers (or anyone) to live through that time. What you feel when you know there’s nothing you can do about it. The anger when other kids treat your kids poorly. The sacrifices you make for your children. Throughout the book we follow the arc of how the ongoing hardships shape and develop Elsa and Loreda as women and in their relationship with one another. “It was only possible to live without love when you’d never known it.”

Elsa must figure out how to survive, keep her family together, and pray for love once more. The land is dying, and Ant develops dust pneumonia. Teenage Loreda is angry, obstinate, and blames everything on her mom. Her two children, Loreda and Ant, provide her with the love she’s always wanted. She comes into her own and learns to love working the land. She meets Rafe, feels seen, and in one night of rebellion and impulse, she is kicked out of her home and forced to begin her family on Rafe’s family farm. “A flower closed up tightly, waiting for the sunlight to fall on furled petals, desperate to bloom.” Growing up, she is unloved by her own family. It was really interesting learning more about these historical events- I might have to watch Ken Burns’ documentary on it now.īut I agree with some other reviewers that, as a Goodreads Choice Award Winner, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. It’s a long book that, though reads fast, is boring at times. Set during the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression, this is the story of hardship, resilience, motherhood, and bravery. We fight for our American dream, that it will be possible again.” “The four winds have blown us here, people from all across the country, to the very edge of this great land, and now, at last, we make our stand, fight for what we know to be right.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah