The Women

by: Kristin Hannah

Goodreads description:

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.

Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓

Kristin Hannah does not disappoint! Does the word “unputdownable” exist? That is how I would describe this book. The description was terrific. It was like reading about MASH (I know that was Korea, but the same idea with the hospital) or the TV show China Beach…Sadly, the atrocities of war started to numb you with the day in/ day out devastation. I alternated listening on audible and reading. I found myself extending my daily walks because I didn’t want to stop listening. This book bordered on “trauma porn”. Have you heard that term before – ha? How much bad stuff could this lady endure? Still…it was an enthralling and captivating read!

Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓

This one is heavy! And beautifully written. A heart-wrenching story about nurses, and one in particular, who served near the front in Vietnam. It reminded me of M*A*S*H*. This one will make you smile and cry. Heads Up: I cried through the last 20 pages. I found that I lost a little interest in the middle of the book, but the first part and the ending are phenomenal. There is a lot of trauma in this book – of all types – and it was distressing to see how little help was available to these traumatized nurses returning from the front.

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