On June 6, 1942 the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska and occupied the islands of Adak and Kiska.  This little known military encounter during WWII becomes the backdrop of Payton’s novel of devotion between a husband and wife and the human capacity to survive.

John Easley, a journalist whose articles about nature and wildlife have been published in National Geographic gets word that his brother was killed in battle in Europe. Although they were not that close this news deeply affects John who now is determined to find some meaning in his brother’s death in the only way he knows how which is to write about the war, particularly about what is happening in Alaska.  Military censorship makes it difficult to know exactly what is going on, but John is persistent and eventually leaves Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Helen, and finds his way north hoping to to get close to the action.  Once there he assumes the identity of his brother, a Canadian Air Force pilot and is allowed to observe the US military’s preparations for the invasion of the islands of Adak and Kiska which are now occupied by Japanese forces.  John boards a plane on a bombing run which is shot down over the island of Attu and now he and one other survivor of the crash must learn to survive the severe weather and natural elements of these isolated islands as well as the Japanese forces.

As the weeks pass and John struggles to find food and warmth and shelter in the bleakest and most isolated islands imaginable, John’s will to survive is severely tested and yet he finds that it is the simplest things that give him hope.   

Meanwhile, after weeks of not hearing anything, Helen, John’s wife is convinced that something terrible has happened and begins to trace John’s last movements.  When she realizes that there is little trace of him except of him going north, she decides to join a USO troop and asks to be sent to Alaska in hopes that by going directly to the area where John was last seen she might be able to find him.  As Helen moves away from her home, she must face her own struggles against losing hope, and she also must learn her own harsh lessons of survival amidst all the dangers inherent in being in a USO troupe.

Payton’s (see interview) story of human survival during this conflict is well told and his examination of what gives us strength when faced with overwhelming obstacles is both inspiring and humbling; for it is the simple things, a picture, a memory and a deep abiding love, that provide hope and the will to survive. 

Brenda’s Rating: *** (3 Stars out of 5)  

Recommend this book to: Sharon and Ken

Book Study Worthy: Yes

Read in ebook format.