Patti Callahan weaves an astonishing tale that is based on the sinking of the steamship Pulaski. The Pulaski was carrying Savannah's elite on board, the fateful night that the boat is ripped apart, when a boiler explodes. Sending families scrambling for their own lives, fighting for loved ones, and most being taken to the bottom of the ocean with the steamship. Callahan's use of details transports you back to 1838, being ripped from your sleep, chaos, the chill of the water, the water puckered skin, the blistering sunburns. All the horror that these people had to live through, in order to remain alive.

Everly Winthrop is a history professor who is asked to curate the museum collection, of the Pulaski artifacts. The Pulaski wreckage has finally been discovered 180 years later, 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Everly is swept back to her Papa's tall tales of the Pulaski, the ever-changing story of her youth. Everly has always felt a connection with Lily Forsyth, her statue has stood in Savannah keeping the Pulaski's mystery alive. With her will and determination, Everly sets off to find out the truth about what happened to Lily, and the rest of her family that were on the boat. To discover, which passengers survived that horrible night, and the experience of trying to survive the days after. The question is "How did they survive the surviving?"

Everly, also familiar with her own tragedy, and loss. She is allowed to heal through the digging of history. She discovers more about her beloved town, Savannah, and just how these people powered on when faced with the worst type of loss. She learns that she too needs to live, and love. I cannot say enough about this book. If you are a lover of history, it is a must read. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this spectacular book on love and the fight to survive!

Surviving Savannah is a historical fiction book about the sinking of the steamship, the Pulaski, in 1838. There are two storylines - Everly in the present and Augusta + Lilly in the past. The book tells the three women’s stories of survival.

I’ve read several of Patti Callahan (Henry)’s women’s fiction/romance books. I also read Becoming Mrs. Lewis before I started my #bookstagram account, so I requested this when I saw it on @NetGalley. This was out of my traditional genre, but I really enjoyed this! Everly’s story was so affecting (like you felt her feelings), and I enjoyed reading the fictional account of the survivors of the Pulaski. I knew nothing about the Pulaski despite it being called the “Titanic of the south.”

Thanks to @NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC!

This is a well-researched dual timeline story about a shipwreck in the 1800s. The characters who are loosely based on historical figures are well-characterized and believable. The present day story, of course, ties in to the historic disaster in a few ways. At it's heart, this novel explores age-old questions about survival and the unpredictability of life. How is it determined who survives? Should those who survive live their lives in a noble and praiseworthy way? Should survivors feel guilty? Why do innocent people perish when evil folks survive? Patti Callahan explores these questions through her characters and the events in the novel. I thought it was excellent.

** “I know this: we’re made of stories, legends and myths just as we are made of water, atoms and flesh. Once you know it, you can’t un-know it; you can’t pretend that everything that happened before you were born doesn’t have something to with who you are today.” **

Patti Callahan tells the story of the actual 1838 sinking of the steamship Pulaski in “Surviving Savannah,” a novel that asks the question “How did they survive the surviving?”

When the Pulaski left Savannah for Baltimore, via Charleston, in June of 1838, little did its passengers and crew dream they were embarking on a deadly voyage. When an unfortunate mistake with tragic results occurs, the nearly 200 aboard find themselves in a days-long struggle for survival.

In this dual-timeline book, we also meet Everly Winthrop who is asked to curate an exhibit about the Pulaski after its remains are found at the bottom of the ocean. As Everly dives deeper into those aboard, especially the Longstreet and Forsyth families, she must come to terms with her own past loss and trauma.

Callahan offers a deeply researched novel that will appeal to fans of historical fiction, based-on-true-events fiction, and maritime history. She does a great job of integrating the stories of characters based on actual people involved with the Pulaski disaster, as well as characters based loosely on others involved.

She also fills “Surviving Savannah” with some great themes, like we rarely see the negative situations coming; sometimes things look worse before they look better; even during moments of horror, we can act with kindness and compassion; we must sometimes choose to love, even when it’s difficult; life contains both brokenness and wholeness; how do we respond to grief; and choosing to live, even when we don’t think we can go on (“And I realize this now — anyone who is engaged in life at all is brave. It’s so much easier to stay in the dream, in the hallucinations, in the wishing. But today, down there, I chose to live a full life. Or something in me chose it.”).

A huge theme of this book is stories — the importance of stories and that we are all made of them; finding our stories; and the interconnectivity of our stories.

Disclaimer: this book does contain the occasional use of language and a few references to intimacy and marital abuse.

Four stars out of five.

Berkley Publishing Group provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking. Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven members of the Longstreet family who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions.

This is a fascinating historical fiction based on the true story of the explosion and sinking of the steamship Pulaski. It focuses on a two part timeline--Everly in the present and Augusta, Lilly and their families who boarded the Pulaski for the fateful trip. It is a story of determination. and a will to survive the horrible explosion and days at sea without food or water. The author did an amazing amount of research into the event and the people on board. Her descriptions made you feel like you were on board the ship and on the water with the survivors. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this amazing book. I highly recommend.

An amazing read that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning!
The centerpoint of this story is the steamship Pulaski, which left from Savannah, Georgia in 1838 and sank off of the coast of North Carolina due to a boiler explosion. About 128 people died. Part of this novel deals with a modern day woman - Everly - who is putting together a museum display about the crash. And the other part is of course a fictionalized account of some of the people that boarded the ship and what happened to them. The part that kept me up was wanting to know who was going to survive the shipwreck - and how they were going to move on from their lives afterwards. I was particularly drawn to the story of Lilly, a young mother in a troubled marriage who could find an unexpected blessing in the shipwreck - if she can survive it. She and Everly are both dealing with secrets and trauma that haunts them, and both find a way out of their darkness into the light.
I found this a very satisfying read, and I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction, tales that focus on women overcoming desperate circumstances, and those that enjoy Southern settings.

Told from present day and past perspective, this story of maritime disaster in early Savannah history captures the imagination. Much about the history of Savannah including the taint of slavery. The question of faith in God as savior vs. Chance is debated briefly. The romance in present day lacks suspense and heat. The story is sometimes dragging but overall a good read.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

LOVED THIS! Everything I enjoy most about good historical fiction was in this book: a dual timeline story with a mystery about what happened in the past featuring strong women and a subject I learned lots about. This book centers on the 1838 tragic sinking of the steamship Pulaski (dubbed the Titanic of the South) that happened off the coast of North Carolina. We get to experience the sinking and the aftermath from the perspectives of three women passengers, Augusta, Lily and her Black nursemaid, Priscilla. While in the present, the wreck of the Pulaski is discovered for the first time and Everly Winthrop works as a guest curator for the museum digging into the lives of the people on board the ship in order to create an exhibit honoring the disaster and its passengers. So much great historical sleuthing but also sensitively deals with issues of class and race in the early 19th century American South. The city and history of Savannah is highlighted in a wonderful way in this story as well. Highly recommend for historical fiction fans!

CW: grief, loss of loved ones, death from a hit and run, death from a shipwreck and drowning, domestic abuse

You can read what the story is about in the book description. I'm her to say, a very interesting story. Research done to perfection and written beautifully. Characters are full of life. You can visualize every moment. So much detail. A page turner.

Absolutely captivating! Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan explores the will of the human spirit to survive, regardless of what life throws at you. Weaving together the past and the present, that feel synchronous in a city like Savannah, where history seems not so far gone and where mysteries still lurk, waiting to be uncovered.
Based on the real shipwreck of the steamship Pulaski which is often considered the Titanic of the south, Surviving Savannah reads like the best sort of unputdownable fiction, made all the more impressive because so much of the foundation for the story is tied to truth.

The opening to the book drew me right in. Picture an old historic Savannah home, where a grandfather sits with his two granddaughters spinning a tale of a ship depicted in a stately oil painting hung above a crackling fire. Amidst the deep wooden panels that line his library, the two girls hear about the shipwreck that devastated Savannah, and the woman whose statue still stands in city center whose story remains a mystery—Lilly Forsyth.
Lilly was a society woman, recently married and mother to a new baby. But what happened to Lilly after boarding that ship? She is rumored to have survived the wreck and days at sea, and yet her whereabouts are unknown. Did she truly survive, or is her secret lost to the sea?

Years later, one of those girls Everly is a history professor who has suffered her own tragedy she struggled to move on from—the death of her best friend Mora. But when Mora’s husband arrives with an offer to consult on an exhibit about the recently discovered wreckage of the Pulaski—and the history that goes along with it—Everly can’t refuse.

Everly has always been fascinated with Lilly Forsyth, and she becomes engrossed in the mystery of Lilly and her cousin Augusta Longstreet, as well as Augusta’s brother, wife, and eight kids who boarded the ill-fated Pulaski. And so the story weaves back in time to June 13, 1838 when the Longstreet and Forsyth families boarded the ship, looking to escape the Georgia heat and head north for the summer. Many aboard the ship brought much of their wealth onboard. The luxury ship was supposed to be safe. Until it wasn’t.

Both stories were captivating to me, and I loved the way it felt as though neither would resolve before the other. In the past, we see an epic story of the power of the human spirit to survive. The stories in the days following the sinking of the Pulaski and the way passengers fought to survive were incredibly vivid. Meanwhile in the present time, Everly is shipwrecked in her own way, fighting to bring herself back from the grief over losing Mora. And as the mystery engages her more deeply, Everly struggles to stay present and not get sucked into the tragedy of the Pulaski.

Full of vivid scenes, emotional exploration, and stories of love, grief, loss, and survival—Surviving Savannah grabbed my attention and held on until the final page. Must-read historical fiction at its finest!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Outstanding dual timeline story moves seamless from the horrors of the downed steamship Pulaski, the Titanic of the South, to the story of modern day museum curator/historian seeking to find the stories of families lost to this disaster as well as the families surviving and her own story of surviving the survival.

Great story for any reading, so much detail that any book club would have much to discuss.

Surviving Savannah
By Patti Callahan

A thought-provoking and riveting story of catastrophe, survival and hope.

SUMMARY
In 1838, twelve members of the Longstreet family of Savannah Georgia board the luxury steamship Pulaski, to travel to Baltimore to escape the brutal Savannah summers. This is the newly built ship’s fourth journey. There are over 180 passengers and crew members on board when the ship explodes in the middle of the night. With only two working lifeboats on board, many lives were lost on that horrendous night.

The wreckage is discovered 180 years later in a hundred feet of water thirty-five miles off the coast of North Carolina. Everly Winthrope, a Savannah history professor is ask to guest-curate the collection of artifacts being recovered from the Pulaski for a local history museum. Everly’s research on what happened that night leads her to focus her efforts on two members of the Longstreet family who had boarded the ship.—Augusta Longstreet, and her niece Lilly Forsyth. These two women face difficult and heartbreaking decisions on the night of the explosion. Everly is also facing difficult decisions of her own if she is going to survive the recent loss of her best friend.

”There were many ways to survive and many ways to survive the surviving.”

REVIEW
Surviving Savanah is a thought-provoking story of catastrophe, survival and hope. Author Patti Callahan plucks this riveting steamship story from real life and creatively weaves the past and the present, alternating between Everly in present day, and Lilly Forsyth and Augusta Longstreet in 1838. The perseverance, determination and resilience reflected by these women makes this story captivating.

The story explores the horror of having to make instantaneous decisions that have life and death consequences and the sorrow of being a survivor when those you know and love have died. But it’s also about hope for the future and surviving the survival.

Callahan’s characters are delightfully well-developed and her writing is vividly descriptive, particularly of the days following the explosion, as many passengers are floating in the water barely clinging to life.

She has thoroughly proven her ability once again as an outstanding author. She has authored numerous novels, most recently including The Favorite Daughter and Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“The life we live is the life we choose. With ever decision of the hear soul and mind. What do we do with our survival? Now what?”

“You know,” he said finally, “not everyone who survives trauma becomes a better person. The idea that surviving brings everyone to a new and better place is a lie told by people who need the world to make sense.”

Publisher Berkley
Published March 9, 2021
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

This book has been on my radar for months—ever since I was part of the cover reveal I have been counting down the days until this one! I have read a couple of Patti Callahan’s books prior to this one and loved them! But this book sounded like it was going to be one of her best yet!

The cover is absolutely captivating and promises a wonderful historical fiction novel contained within, but as we all know, we can’t judge a book by it’s cover—however tempting it might be. Even with that thought in mind, my expectations were high for this one simply based on the cover.

But if reading Becoming Mrs Lewis taught me anything it’s that Callahan is a superb writer and does a wonderful job with her research. So naturally my expectations were high for this one—gorgeous cover or not. I sat down with this one on a quiet Sunday morning and it simply did not let me go for the next couple of days. I was lost in the story and adored it!

Summary
When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she’s shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can’t resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly’s research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah’s society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving. (summary from Goodreads).

Review
Years ago I read In the Garden of Good and Evil and I was captivated by the town of Savannah. I never had any desire to travel to the South, but after reading that book it’s been on my bucket list. Now after reading this book, the desire to go there is undeniable. Callahan describes the town of Savannah in such rich color and detail, I couldn’t get enough of it! The settings in this book range from opulent southern society to the river boat survivors. It was such a well told story that was incredibly well researched! I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed every single minute of it!

This book, like many historical fiction novels, flips between a modern narrative and a historical one. I know a lot of readers grow tired of that approach and find it simply over done, but I rarely become bored with it. I grew up in a family that loved history (I also have my master’s in history) and my dream was always to find some artifact or letter of a family secret hidden for years that leads me on an adventure through time. So books like this really speak to my heart. If you are one of those that is bored with the modern/historic timelines then you will likely find this book predictable in some ways but for me, I simply love it and enjoy books like this so much!

I think one of the things in this book that got me the most was all the details about diving/recovery and shipwrecks! When I think of shipwrecks my mind immediately goes to the Titanic and salvaging but this was something entirely different and I think the author 100% capitalize on that sense of new-ness in the story. There were little historic details that I found interesting and intriguing—-so much so, that I went down different rabbit holes Googling all sorts of things about shipwrecks etc. I loved that this one was based on actual events and it was something I had never heard of so instantly this one felt fresh and exciting for me.

This book had a lot to recommend itself to fans of historical fiction, but even if you aren’t a fan of historical fiction I would encourage you to read this one still. It’s beautifully written with rich historical detail as well as a host of well drawn characters. I loved it and once again, Callahan knocked it out of the park with this one! I cannot wait for more historical fiction novels from her!

Book Info and Rating
Format432 pages Kindle Edition

PublishedMarch 9, 2021 by Berkley

Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley in partnership with Tall Poppy Writers/Bloggers, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

At the risk of sounding like a school girl crushing on her first boyfriend, I loved, loved Surviving Savannah. I follow Patti Callahan Henry on several forms of social media/her website and have participated in several virtual book discussions related to this book, the history, her research and how she brings it all together in this remarkable historical fiction book. So remarkable to me that while I knew the Longstreet family was her imagined family based the real Lamar family, I was so drawn into the story that when I got to the end and read the author's note and the resources and facts I was surprised that they weren't real, I had completely forgotten what I had learned through the virtual events. I'm not a writer, maybe I wish I was, but this book makes me want to find something in history that most people don't know about and get lost and consumed into finding out what really happened and bringing it to life in a book the way she did with the Pulaski tragedy.

This book is told in two timelines and I found myself invested in each equally as they alternated back and forth for the most part. I wanted more of the timeline I had just finished when I finished one chapter and moved on to the next. While I didn't have any problems staying interested and into the book, Patti's ability to give equal treatment to each timeline and leaving me wanting more is something that I rarely find in dual timeline books. I'm usually far more invested in one of the timelines more than the other.

The writing in describing the ship blowing up and it's sinking, how the survivors managed and worked together to try to save themselves and get to land, the elite and the enslaved all became focused on surviving, the young and the old, was fascinating and made me feel like I was part of the story.

If I had to change one thing (well, maybe a few) in this book it would be to make it longer and delve more into the 20 years between the sinking and when Augusta wrote her account of what happened. I'd like to know more know about the Red Devil and how the sinking and trying to survive changed him from what seemed like a normal teenager to a horrible person with the enslaved. But most especially I'd love to read the letters between Augusta and Lilly for the 20 years after she, her daughter and nursemaid left the area and started new lives for themselves. Hey Patti, maybe this could be your next book.

Best book I've read all year, hands down.

Everly Winthrop is asked to curate a collection from the lost steamship Pulaski, which went down in 1838 after the boiler exploded. Much like the Titanic, they are excited by the artifacts 180 years later. Everly especially relates because of the loss of her friend Mora and the fact that she’s working with Oliver who was engaged to her when she died in an accident. The story is twofold as we travel back in time to the final voyage of the Pulaski and learn about two women- Lily an aristocrat with an abusive husband and Priscilla a woman in slavery. This is a story of survival whether it be an accident or suffering abuse in 1838. The author paints a beautiful picture of Savannah helping the reader to travel there without a plane ticket! I think I loved the story of the women on the Pulaski most and then the present-day story.

I received this book from Net Galley and have left an honest review.

TWENTY Must-Read Books of 2021 that You Need On Your Bookshelf
In 2020, I read a crazy amount of books. I doubt I will ever top the amount I read!

I’m trying to read as much as I can and just plowed through some of the best novels I have ever read. I didn’t think another year could possibly compare, but there is an absolute plethora of books that are SO GOOD coming out now and in the next few months.

I cannot stop reading! As soon as I finish one I pick up another.

Here are TWENTY books that you will want to read as soon as they are published.

These are books that will entertain, make you think, make you laugh, some will have you biting your nails in suspense. Take a look now and let me know what you will be reading!

4. Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan, if you love compelling historical fiction, you need to read this!
It was called “The Titanic of the South.” The luxury steamship sank in 1838 with Savannah’s elite on board; through time, their fates were forgotten–until the wreck was found, and now their story is finally being told in this breathtaking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she’s shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can’t resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly’s research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah’s society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.

This one just came out!

I love all of Patti Callahan’s books and especially this one. She writes about the 1838 tragic sinking of the steamship Pulaski, It was called The Titanic of the South, after its boiler exploded. I never heard of this story and that's what I love the most about her books. I fell in love with the main character Everly immediately. If you are a historical fiction reader -- put her books on your TBR.

Surviving Savannah welcomed me to current day Savannah with open arms and then introduced me to life in the early 1800s as well. This dual timeline narrative was told from three perspectives. Two women, Lilly and Augusta, aboard the ill-fated Pulaski, and a current day historian, Everly, who was learning about these women and their fate.

This book offered so much and read so quickly. After just an afternoon of reading, I realized I was over halfway through. Everly, our teacher and history buff, was much more complex than meets the eye. She’s struggling with survivor’s guilt and pure grief at the loss of her best friend. Because I’ve dealt with a dear friend’s sudden passing, I was able to relate to her circumstance quite well. Callahan was on point in describing the aches that come with grief and for Everly, it was starting the research into the Pulaski that drew her back to the living.

The scenes on the boat were brought to life with striking detail. I imagined this book as a movie in my head with great clarity. It took destruction and then attempt at survival for elite folks on board to not see color or gender. Learning about who survived and who didn’t was fascinating and how one of them (no spoilers) turned from good to evil after surviving. Understanding how the rich carried not just trunks of clothing, but also carried trunks of gold bars, dishes, silver serving pieces and the like so that their stays up north would have all the comforts of home. So much was lost and thankfully, so much was learned in regards to steamship safety.

Schools in and around Chicago get Casimir Pulaski day off of school. I knew he was a Polish officer in the war. This book schooled me on who he was and his importance in American history. I relished this book and highly recommend.

Surviving Savannah is historical fiction at it’s best. In this book there are two stories that seamlessly intertwine. Everly, is the current day narrator, who has had a tragedy of her own, when he best friend is accidentally killed by a drunk driver. Augusta Longstreet is a woman who faces the tragedy of the Pulaski steamship explosion that leads to its sinking and many deaths. Both women become stronger because of their tragedies and learn to accept love. The details about the sinking of the ship are intriguing. It makes you want to make a trip to Savannah to find out more.

In 1838, The Steamship Pulaski set sail from Savannah to Baltimore, loaded with wealthy passengers, their extravagant belongings, and also their enslaved people. Lilly Forsyth, her nursemaid, the enslaved Priscilla, and Lilly's daughter Madeleine board along with Lilly's cousins, the wealthy and famous Longstreets. Lilly is also accompanied by her arrogant, cruel, and abusive husband, Adam. Dripping with wealth and carrying all the comforts of home, the Pulaski sets sail for a one-night voyage to Baltimore so the rich can escape the Southern heat. A horrific explosion and fire occur during the night, causing the sinking of the ship and great loss of life. Lilly, Priscilla, and Madeleine begin their desperate attempt to survive in more ways than one.

In present day, Everly has suffered a great personal loss after the death of her best friend Mora. She is approached by Oliver, who was engaged to Mora when she died. Oliver is part of a team which has discovered the remains of the Pulaski after more than 180 years and is beginning the recovery.. He asks Everly to curate the artifacts and help arrange an exhibit. Everly has been living a reclusive life since the death of Mora in a horrible hit-and-run accident that Everly survived. She is going through the motions and is obsessed with finding the hit -and-run driver, who is still unidentified. Can she commit to a project such as the Pulaski?

This captivating and exquisitely written story looks at the many different sides of survival. There is survival of a tragedy, such as the sinking of the Pulaski, there is survival of slavery and horrific abuse, and survival of an accident that turned to murder. Then the author looks at different reactions of the survivors. This takes a fascinating turn, as different characters have very different reactions to the same tragedy. Some embrace life, knowing that it is fleeting, some cower in fear, and others blaze with hate and anger. The characters, especially Lilly, Priscilla, and Everly, are well developed and engaging. The story is an intriguing mix of fact and fiction. Patti Callahan takes a real event, the sinking of the Pulaski, and combines it with both real and fictional characters to create a story that is fascinating and hard to put down. I would recommend it for any fans of historical fiction or maritime fiction.