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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This was such beautiful writing for a really hard topic. I will admit, my knowledge of this period in our history is lacking but it seems like Hannah took great care with the way she told this heartbreaking story.
For anyone on the fence about reading this, please do! It is not all doom and gloom, and also not overly cheery about the horrors of the Vietnam War and its aftermath.
As usual I may have more to add to this once I’ve had some time to sit with it!
04.5 stars! I loved this book! Thrown into my radar by the Read Receipts newsletter I downloaded it on a whim to accompany me on a work trip, and it didn't disappoint. It was great pace, I felt totally invested in Frankie, almost cried four times and now have a new found obsession with finding out more about the Vietnam war. Frankie evidently does come from a place of extreme privilege so it makes you think more about those who didn't have access to the support systems she did. Anyway, great read!
0I have to say this is the best book I’ve ever read! Kristin Hannah has been my favorite author for a few years, but this one absolutely blew all of her books out of the water. It was raw, emotional, realistic, and so, so sad.
When Frankie McGrath’s brother goes to war, her whole life changes. Her father has made it clear that the only way to be a hero and end up on the “Hero’s wall” in his home office is to serve your country. One day, while doing menial tasks as a nurse, she meets a wounded veteran that tells her about the nurses over in Vietnam. She immediately goes and signs up as an Army nurse. Her parents don’t understand and are furious when she tells them. It turns out, her father only respects the men who go to war. It’s too late for Frankie to back out and she is shipped out the Vietnam. While there, she is thrown into the worst conditions imaginable, but she makes the best friends and actually falls in love. When her time there is over, she returns to the States heartbroken and traumatized. Frankie has to learn how to live in the real world again.
I don’t think I have ever been this personally invested in a character. I felt like I was Frankie for a majority of the book! The author described the setting and the character’s emotions so well that they felt real.
While this book was super sad, the ending was surprisingly heartwarming. I don’t know if I’ve ever cried this hard in my life! This story will definitely stick with me for a very long time!
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