Book Review: Surviving Savannah

By Jessica Oravec

 

“What do we do when tragedy bursts through the door, trailing smoke and grief in its wake?” And if we are the survivors of that tragedy, how do we “survive the surviving”? Surviving Savannah, a work of historical fiction by Patti Callahan, seeks to uncover what happens to the survivors of tragedy. Do they become better people for having survived misfortune, or does their grief and anger create a prison for them?

Surviving Savannah is about the steamship Pulaski, which left Savannah, Georgia, bound for Baltimore, Maryland, in June 1838. It carried some of Savannah’s elite on board including the Longstreet family: Lamar and Melody; their six children; Lamar’s sister, Augusta; and their niece, Lilly, along with her husband, small daughter, and nursemaid. On the second day at sea, a boiler exploded, breaking the ship apart and causing it to sink the bottom of the ocean in just 45 minutes.

As the ship broke apart, people scrambled to lifeboats, tried to find their families, and did their best to survive. Some survivors were rescued, and others floated in the sea, desperately praying for a miracle. The story is told by Augusta and Lilly, both fighting for survival, and Everly Winthrop in present day, who is fighting for survival from her own tragedy.

As Everly digs deeper into the sinking of the Pulaski, she discovers who survived and how they survived the surviving, which may help her find a way to move past her own tragedy.

Callahan deftly weaves the gripping tale of the ship disaster with a modern-day tragedy. She brings the people of the ship to life in rich detail — their hopes and fears, their lives outside the Pulaski, and what happens when they face the greatest trial of their lives. Surviving Savannah is a story of grief, tragedy, and hope that stays with you long after the last page.