The Four Winds by Kristin Hanna
Days after finishing The Four Winds, I was watching my six-year-old eat a piece of pizza, and it almost made me cry. It was so easy for me to get on my laptop and order pizza, and pick it up, yet the characters in this book fought for every single morsel, fought for everything they had. The contrast hit me hard. That’s the kind of book this is—the kind that sneaks up on you and then lingers, and makes you look at your own life with a whole new level of gratitude.
This was my first Kristin Hannah book, and wow, do I see what all the hype is about. She knows exactly how to punch you in the gut emotionally but in a way that keeps you turning the pages. The Four Winds follows Elsa Martinelli, a woman who’s never really felt wanted. Not by her parents, not by her husband, and honestly, not even by life itself. But when she’s left to raise her kids on her own in the middle of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, she has no choice but to become stronger than she ever thought possible.
The story takes us from drought-ravaged Texas to the so-called “land of opportunity” in California, where Elsa quickly realizes that life for migrant workers is anything but a dream. The struggle, the desperation, the way people had to fight for basic survival—it’s brutal, and Hannah doesn’t hold back.
Kristin Hannah’s writing is stunning in the way it brings history to life. She paints such a vivid picture of the Dust Bowl era that you can practically feel the dust in your throat and the desperation in every decision Elsa makes. At one point, I even pulled up photos from the Dust Bowl era, and it made the story feel even more real—seeing the barren land, the worn-out faces, the makeshift camps. The way she balances beautiful prose with raw, gut-wrenching emotion is masterful. It’s one thing to tell a heartbreaking story, but it’s another to make you feel every ounce of it, and that’s exactly what she does.
As a mom, this book wrecked me. Elsa’s love for her kids is so fierce, and she sacrifices everything to give them a shot at a better life. The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking about how much we take for granted. Things as simple as turning on the faucet for clean water or having food in the fridge—Elsa and her children didn’t have those luxuries. And that’s why, days later, watching my kid casually eat his pizza in our warm, safe home almost had me crying.
What I loved most about this book is how it made me feel. The frustration, the hope, the heartbreak—it was all so real. And Elsa? She’s one of those characters that will stick with me forever. Her transformation from an unsure, unloved woman into this unstoppable force of a mother was incredible to witness.
This book was heavy, I won’t lie. But it was also hopeful in its own way. It reminded me that strength comes in many forms, that love and sacrifice are deeply intertwined, and that even in the darkest times, people find a way to endure.
Will I be reading more Kristin Hannah? Oh, absolutely. If The Four Winds is any indication of her storytelling abilities, I’m about to have my emotions shredded over and over again—and I can’t wait.
