It s now 3:00AM and I m sitting in my living room, and I m so moved and ready to fight As we enter a new year with the same pandemic and political strife, so much of this book will open your eyes to the plight of those less fortunate trying to feed their families and make a living in dire times and trying to right wrongs. Sound familiar? It s Heartbreaking that we are fighting for the same BASIC human rights as we did 90+ YEARS AGO!!! The hardships faced by Elsa are simply relentless. Kristin Hannah wrote a visceral, richly detailed and atmospheric novel that will transport us back to the Dust Bowl and to the migrant settlements in California afterward, This is such a fascinating tale filled with captivating historical detail that gets glossed over in history books, Learning about the company store and how American citizens were forced to be basically slaves to these large farmers was eye-opening to me and I felt the desperation and hopelessness these people must have felt because they had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. By the end of this book, I cried, I raised my fist in the air and I also wondered Kristin Hannah has written so many great novels that one can only ponder if she can continue on the winning streak Her writing will break you, move you, and heal you -all at once and she offers no regrets only explanations of why, how, and when she decided to choose such subjects to tackle with the upmost of respect, dignity, and courage. Kristin Hannah began writing this novel over three years ago, before the pandemic, before the skyrocketing unemployment that would follow. And yet, this story is so relevant to our current days, the isolation, dwindling funds, people, as she says in her note at the end, frightened for their future, men in power shushing voices in order to further their own desires, wanting us to pay attention to what they say and not what they really mean or what they show by their actions. Or, as the Wizard of Oz said: Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.