''THE ISLAND' IS A BOOK ABOUT A REAL PLACE IN RURAL MINNESOTA. IT IS ABOUT REAL PEOPLE WHO WERE HIT HARD BY THE GREAT INFLUENZA OF THE EARLY 1900'S AND ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE YOUNGEST CHILD IN A FAMILY OF SIX CHILDREN LEFT ORPHANED WHO WAS ADOPTED OUT TO A FAMILY IN A NEARBY CITY. MOST OF HIS LIFE WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS STORY AND IS BASED ON TRUE FACTS.