THE WOMEN BY KRISTIN HANNAH

Kristin Hannah writes the most immersive historical fiction novels. This is an incredible novel about the Women who sacrificed themselves during the Vietnam war. I highly recommend it. 

Rating: ★★★★★
​Release Date: February 6, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: None.
Pages: 472
Format: Paperback Source: St. Martin's Press

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships

run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

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My heart hurts after reading The Woman by Kristin Hannah. Am I glad I read it? Yes, did it devastate me? Also, yes. My husband is a veteran himself, and I have seen what PTSD can do to people. It’s truly heartbreaking to watch. If you know a veteran, you’ll understand what I mean. It’s no joke and what these men and women go through is terrible. In this novel, Kristin Hannah does an amazing job at tackling not only the events of the war, but PTSD and its effects as well. I could write an entire review just on the PTSD elements, but I’ll allow readers to experience them through this book in the eyes of our main character because it heartbreakingly RAW but absolutely imperative to learn about in a story like this. People don’t come home for a war whole, and this is shown through Frankie as she battles her demons.

Told in dual parts The Women tells the story of Frankie McGrath, a war nurse who served in Vietnam after losing her brother. Being there during battle was life changing on its own but it’s the stuff that happens after - the negativity from Americans, the shame from her parents, the nightmares etc. that really transform her. Frankie is thrust into a world she no longer trusts, and her downward spiral is evident in the way she drinks, uses pills, and avoids reality. Readers will go on this tough journey with Frankie as she hits rock bottom because of the War and very slowly makes her way back to herself.

This is a powerful, all-consuming novel of historical fiction that everyone should read. It’s sad, graphic, and raw. I highly recommend it. Please just be aware that this book does deal with tough issues (see trigger warnings below).

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: graphic content, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, cheating

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Historical Fiction
❥ Novels based in the 1960’s and 70s
❥ War Novels

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐