I never thought I’d ever feel any kind of kinship or even sympathy for Alice. Have met many women like her, those that think themselves smart, capable and empathetic, yet have never really endured physical, emotional or mental hardship. However, her journey changed her drastically making her stronger, more alert and observant, ready for actual action and common sense practicality instead of empty-headed talk about helping others from a totally abstract lack of understanding. What didn’t change was her tight-lipped refusal to speak about what happened, thus leaving her family unable to deal with the new reality of their world. People simply have no way of handling what they cannot in any way anticipate, that’s just a fact of life! Meanwhile Jim Powell’s family group does some necessary growing. It’s a great thing, this partnership between narrator Kevin Pierce and the author Franklin Horton in the telling of such an intense, action-oriented, emotionally moving story! I’ll actively seek out anything this Horton-Pierce team does together!! Pure excellence!!