What “Real Challenges” Look Like Through the Series Atlantic Crossing
My wife and I recently started watching Atlantic Crossing, the PBS mini-series based on the true story of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway and her connection with President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. We’ve been watching one episode a night, and it’s quickly become a sobering, eye-opening routine. Each night, we find ourselves pausing the show to talk—not just about the plot, but about the overwhelming reality of what people lived through during that time.
The series highlights the tension of Nazi invasions, the burden of exile, and the profound sacrifices made by leaders and ordinary citizens alike. It's a personal view into the costs of war—politically, emotionally, and physically. Families were separated indefinitely. Countries collapsed into chaos. Everyday life, as most knew it, disappeared. People adapted not to inconveniences but to existential threats. Stress didn’t come from late meetings or overflowing inboxes—it came from air raids, food rations, and not knowing if loved ones were alive.
Atlantic Crossing doesn’t glorify these hardships, but it doesn’t soften them either. You see the weight of leadership on Roosevelt’s shoulders. You feel the despair of Märtha as she tries to protect her children from war’s reach. The stress on a marriage separated by thousands of miles. And you begin to understand how resilience isn’t just a word—it’s a way people endured the unimaginable.
Watching this together, my wife and I often marvel at how distant our everyday struggles feel in comparison. It’s not that today’s challenges aren’t real. Economic uncertainty, political polarization, climate concerns—these are significant and demand attention. But they’re different in scope and texture. We’re largely insulated from the kind of visceral, all-consuming hardship that marked the WWII era.
The contrast is humbling. We complain about supply chain delays or digital fatigue while watching a mother flee across continents to keep her children safe from enemy forces. We groan about travel disruptions while watching countries vanish under occupation. It doesn’t mean we’re wrong to feel frustrated or anxious today—but it does offer perspective.
Perspective doesn’t solve problems, but it can sharpen focus. It reminds us how fortunate we are to face many of today’s issues with the benefit of peace, security, and access. Watching Atlantic Crossing reminds us that previous generations bore extraordinary weight—and in many ways, they carried it for us.
As we continue the series, we’ll keep watching not just with admiration, but with gratitude. Because recognizing what real challenges once looked like helps us better understand—and navigate—the ones we face now.
