Wow! This book was such a heartbreaking and heartwarming story at the same time. I knew a little bit about the Vietnam war and how the soliders were treated when they got back home. I didn't know how the women were basically told "you didn't serve " or " there were no women in Vietnam". The disregard these women had to endure was just horrible. This book serves as a reminder of what no treatment for mental health can do to one's everyday life. I thought the author did an amazing job by showing Frances's life before and after serving in the war. I will be thinking about this book for quite some time.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and ARC of this book.

The Women follows Frankie McGrath as she joins the army as a nurse after her brother is sent over to Vietnam to fight in the war. She forges friendships with other nurses and saves men who were injured in combat. When she returns home to California, she struggles through the trauma of the war.

Kristin Hannah’s new book is amazingly written. She has a way with sucking you in and I could not put the book down! The topic brings to light the many issues with how media reported the war as well as some of the forgotten heroes: combat nurses. This book is a must read!

This book was so real and I loved every minute of the book. Frankie was such a super hero in so many ways. She grew not only as a nurse but as a person and to see that journey in an arena where there is so much turmoil and uncertainty was beautiful!! The war was super graphic and seeing the war in such a snapshot was also humbling. It made me feel as if I was there with Frankie helping the soliders! I also enjoyed the fact that she became such a stronger woman and nurse, yet remained so gentle within her heart and soul.

Why am I crying at 30,000 feet in the air, sipping airline wine out of a paper cup, with my hand on my chest?

This book.

"That was the starting and ending point of life: love. The journey was everything in between."

As soon as I read the premise I was so excited to embark on the journey Kristin Hannah would no doubtedly put me on. Even still...I wasn't ready.

The beginning takes off likes a shot and I was invested immediately. I will admit it lulled in the second third of the book and I worried I would continue to lose interest. The repetition threw me off a bit, even though I believe it was strategic. (The trauma that happens to Frankie compounds on her over and over, and so it must also happen to the reader.)

When I hit the last third of the book, I flew. The whiplash of love, grief, addiction, and healing made my head and heart spin in the best way.

This is probably a top 3 KH book for me that ultimately rotates around the axis of friendship, family, and loving people through their absolute darkest.

I could go on and on but I'll leave it with this quote that knocked me straight into my feels:

We were there.

I struggled with this book. For me, the story was too reminiscent of living through the newscasts, seeing friends ship out and having some of them come back in body bags. The book felt very close to home. Kristin Hannah tackled a tough subject and handled it with aplomb.

Frankie McGrath's older brother ships out to Vietnam. She has just received her nursing degree and she joins the Army Nurse Corp. At age 20, she finds herself cast into the hell that was Vietnam. Battle after battle; the medical personnel supposed to patch up what they could, returning those less injured back to the battlefield, stabilizing others and hoping they could get them on a medivac plane out to a hospital that could do more for them. And, worst of all, watching many young men die, trying to give them comfort in their last moments of life. Frankie sent cheerful letters home to her conservative parents who believe the war is going well, with only minor skirmishes, and that Frankie can't possibly be in any danger.

Believing that she needs to stay in Vietnam, Frankie signs up for a second tour which if possible, is worse than the first. Along the way, she meets and makes strong friendships with other nurses, and falls in love only to watch these men die or go missing in action.

Upon returning home, Frankie realizes how deep the political schisms are - many opposed to the war who treat returning soldiers as dirt under their feet. Many Americans were unaware of all that was going on, and how the government lied to the people for too many years about this conflict. Frankie suffers from PTSD, and it takes some very serious life-threatening events for her to realize how badly she needed help. Because she was a woman, the Veterans Administration felt no obligation to care for her, because after all "there were no women serving in Vietnam."

Kristin Hannah has been writing hit after hit these past several years, and The Women lives up to expectations for this next addition to her collection! This is the story of Frankie McGrath, a young woman who volunteers to serve in Vietnam as a nurse. She comes from an military family who lives in upscale Coronado Island, California. Her father has a 'wall of heroes' in their house, with photos of all the generations of men in the family who have served. The experience Frankie has in Vietnam and afterwards is something she never expected, and her coming of age story is gripping and emotional. I was moved to tears (as with most Hannah stories!) and know this story will stay with me. Highly recommend!

This book took my breath away. I can honestly say that I learned more about the men and women in Vietnam from this book than any other historical book that I have read. I will admit that the Vietnam War ended in 1975, when I was only two years old (I know, I just gave my age away), so growing up, I never really paid attention. Now that I am older, history interests me, and learning about the women in Vietnam took it to a whole other dimension. While this is a work of historical fiction, it is a book that I will not forget anytime soon. I highly recommend reading this book, and know that this book is moving into my favorite book of the year slot! While reading this book, I also recommend having tissues nearby- because trust me, you will need them.

What to say? I think Kristin Hannah is one of the BEST modern authors out there. Her stories are ALWAYS engaging, they always invoke emotion and thought. I NEVER care for her heroines. Like, I hate them. Terribly. I believe that this shall be my last KH novel.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5773157868

This is my first Kristin Hannah. I have gone to read her books but always been waylaid by other books bumping them. And I'm kind of glad that this was the first one I read because it was so enjoyable. Ok, the subject matter is anything but light, but the book was an easy read in terms of the story flowing and the characters being fleshed out. This is a story that was worth telling, and I felt so upset on behalf of Frankie for so many things. A little like how I felt reading Lessons in Chemistry to be honest. I kept wanting to smack the people around her for treating her like a lesser person and minimizing her experience.

There were plenty of little plot twists which, I will be honest, I saw coming for the most part. Well, except for the one right in the last chapter. But me being able to predict them didn't make things any less enjoyable, and maybe I'm just a jaded reader that I could pick the complications out before they happened.

This was a book about one woman, Frankie, and the people around her are really and truly supporting characters. Barb and Ethyl factor in her story as well, but mainly as the peers who help her stand tall and are her ride or die.

I almost don't want to read another Hannah book because I'm afraid that they will just disappoint me. Although I will read Firefly Lane if only because I'm watching the show with my daughter and I know that there are differences.

If you like Hannah's other books, I'm sure that this one won't disappoint. If you are looking for a break from what appears to be a heavy trend towards WWII historical (war) fiction. If you want to read about a strong female character fighting against so many things in the world around her. If you want to read about nurses in wartimes. This one is for you.

Kristin Hannah’s newest novel, “The Women” is a tribute to the women who served as combat nurses in the Vietnam War. It is a remarkable tale designed to impart to readers the totality of what those nurses experienced: from the innocent patriotism and compassion that led so many to volunteer, to the unrelenting and horrific reality of that war, to the difficulties that many experienced upon their return home.

Protagonist Francis “Frankie” McGrath begins the novel as a 20-year-old, upper-middle-class, properly brought-up young lady living with her parents in tony Coronado, CA. She’s fresh out of nursing school. Her family has a history of military service, and her brother is a Navy officer serving in Vietnam. Wanting also to serve, Frankie enlists as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Nurse Corps (ANC).

Immediately after basic training, she ships out for Vietnam where she’s assigned to an evac hospital that is sometimes near the fighting and even attacked. Although very green, she catches on quickly and becomes a “rock star” surgical nurse, so committed that she signs up for a second year-long tour. She falls in love and she makes close friends. When her second tour is over, she returns home. That’s where and when her problems really begin. As dangerous and terrifying and primal and physically/mentally/emotionally demanding and exhausting as Vietnam was, Frankie was able to handle it. Her return to “the world” stateside? Well, that’s quite a different matter.

Kristin Hannah does a first-rate job immersing her readers in the world of a Viet Nam War evac hospital: the sights, the smells, the sounds, the long hours, the unrelenting influx of casualties, the nature of their wounds, the terrifying shelling, and the trying living conditions including heat, humidity, heavy rains, damp clothes and bedding, mold, mildew, and rat infestation.

Most of Ms. Hannah’s characters are well-drawn and have depth. With one notable exception, they are good people trying to do right by their duty and the people they care about. I did think Frankie was more believable as a nurse in Vietnam than as a returning vet. In Vietnam, she seemed a real person who learned and grew. Back home, she seemed more like a repository for all the bad outcomes experienced by returning vets, so much so that, at times, the novel struck me as melodramatic. Nevertheless, what happens to Frankie does inform readers about the different issues with which returning nurses (and other vets of both sexes) struggled, including our failure as a nation to treat and recognize them properly, both when they returned and for many years after that.

All in all, I thought “The Women” was a solid, four-star read—a story that needed to be told and that Ms. Hannah told well.

Kristin Hannah has done it again! She's taken a subject that's not very common in novels and given it the literary attention it deserves. In The Women, the central theme is around women who served (primarily as nurses) in Vietnam. There have been lots of books about the 60's/70's and the conflict, but this is the first book I've read about women who served in the military during the war.
The Women focuses on 8+ years in the life of Frances/Frankie, a young woman from a privileged upbringing who's inspired (for a variety of reasons) to use her nursing skills in Vietnam -- a very different path for those days. Most of the book takes place in the '70's and Ms. Hannah does a wonderful job of capturing the decade's cultural touchstones - from the fashions and hairstyles to Tab! It's a heavily researched book but never felt like reading a text book. I learned much about the Vietnam War, particularly about the nurses who served and how poorly they were treated after the war. Don't worry....there's plenty of family and other drama to keep your attention as well!
The Women is a fast paced novel and kept me reading late into the night to learn about what happens to Frankie and the individuals with whom she served..
Overall, a wonderful book and up there with The Nightingale and The Great Alone for my Kristin Hannah favorites. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read The Women in exchange for an honest review.

Like all of the other Kristin Hannah books I have read I loved this one just as much. I learned so much from this story that I didn't know or realize about women who served during Vietnam, the way all people were treated after they came home and the harsh realities all of those people had to face coming home and how to help those who were coming home. It was a great story and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. Have tissues ready!

Thank you for giving me an ARC to read and review. This will be purchased for my library and I will be using it in book clubs.

The Women is another gripping read from the fabulous Kristin Hannah. I adored The Nightingale, and this book returns to war-era strife. With vivid, slashing detail, Frankie McGrath transforms from a sheltered ‘60s deb to an uber-capable Vietnam War nurse. The book isn’t for the faint-hearted, averse to blood, gore, and suffering. But that was the reality Frankie and those soldiers lived through. As usual, Hannah’s research absolutely immerses us in the settings and characters. I was especially moved in learning how the heroic nurses were not only shunned by the public, but also by many / most male veterans on their return. That made acclimating back into an unrecognizable life immeasurably hard. No wonder addiction and PTSD dogged the brave returnees. I was too young to really grasp the impact of Vietnam, but I did wear a POW bracelet. The Women now illuminates this era for me in graphic, unforgettable detail.

I was so excited to get an ARC copy of The Women by Kristin Hannah. She is one of my favorite authors. The Women opened my eyes to a side of the Vietnam War that is rarely talked about - The Women! This book brings awareness to how they contribute to the war and how much they were overlooked in their own country after the war - even by other veterans. Not only do you get a glimpse into what it was like in Vietnam in a medical unit but you get to see what happened after returning home. It is heartbreaking. Not only for the women but for any veteran returning after the Vietnam War. To come home after seeing so many horrific things and to be yelled at and spit at was just horrible. The second half of the book dives into PTSD and what that might look like for a veteran. Hannah did a great job with researching this topic and she shares how she did her research in the Author's Note at the end of the book. This book stuck with me several days after reading it. That is how I know it was.a great book.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is yet another masterpiece by one of the most brilliant authors writing today. In The Women, she brings us into the Vietnam War from an ignored perspective—the combat nurses serving alongside soldiers. This is an emotional rollercoaster- have a fresh box of Kleenex ready! The Women is one of the best books I've ever read. Highly recommend!!!

while each novel is unique in its own way, there is a very clear way to tell a story & this truly was not it. there was no structure to this book, which made it incredibly hard to care about this main character despite how heroic she was as an under appreciated army nurse during vietnam. there were some really interesting parts, but we weren’t able to sit in those moments because there was just so much extra fluff.

AMAZING! Pre-Order and plan to read as soon as this comes out - February 6, 2024! My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy of this book.

Kristin Hannah takes a raw look at a forgotten segment of those who served in the Vietnam War - The Women. Some died while serving and many returned emotionally and/or physically broken - to a country who hated them. The US in the late 60s was divided and broken - over the war, politics, social issues, etc. There were riots, protests, and assassinations. This story centers around three nurses - Frankie, Ethel, and Barb - who formed a life long friendship serving as nurses for the Army Nurse Corps. What began simply by being assigned as roommates soon morphed into an unbreakable bond forged by mutual experiences witnessing the horrors of war. The friendship continued as the women returned home and discovered that few understood what they had been through. The transition to civilian life was different for each of the three women as they strove to find out who and what they will become now.. They were there for each other - through the good and bad times. And, even when no one else seems to be.

While this story opened my eyes to the mental and physical toll of the Vietnam War to its veterans, it is also a story of resiliency, hope, love, and friendship. While the Nightingale is still one of my all-time favorite books, the Women now shares a top spot as well! Highly recommend!!

Frankie McGrath has led a privileged and sheltered life, raised by her conservative parents to be a proper lady and wife. But when she hears these word - "Women can be heroes, too"- her plans for her life begin to change.
It is 1965, and the Vietnam War is in full swing. Upon graduating from nursing school Frankie decides to enlist, much to the shock and embarrassment of her parents. She is ill prepared for what she faces in a field hospital in Vietnam- but she learns quickly- there is no other choice.
I will be honest-this is a brutal book, both the stories of the casualties, told in full detail, and what Frankie comes home to after her tour of duty is over. But this is an excellent book- well researched, which is always the case with Kristin Hannah's books. You will not be sorry if you read it.
My thanks to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

This might be my favorite book that Kristin Hannah has written. It was my first time reading anything about the Vietnam War and this book had me hooked from the very beginning. I love the women in this story and their drive and determination. I also loved how she dove into the aftereffects of war and the differences in how the men were treated versus the women. A moving story that everyone should read.

Kristin Hannah's "The Women" is a wonderful 5-star read! This historical fiction masterpiece transports you to the turbulent 1960s, weaving an intimate coming-of-age story against the background of a country torn apart by war and politics.

Meet Frankie McGrath, a sheltered nursing student who joined the Army Nurse Corps in the midst of the Vietnam War, propelled by a newfound sense of purpose. Hannah's description of Frankie's journey is incredibly affecting, capturing the turmoil and horror of war perfectly.

However, "The Women" is more than just Frankie's story; it is a tribute to all the unsung heroines who served their country in the shadows. Hannah's storytelling is piercing and beautiful, offering an emotionally packed story that had me in tears.

As a lover of Kristin Hannah's past works, this novel exceeded my expectations. Her ability to bring powerful, female-centric stories from history to life is unrivaled. And, yes, prepare for a good ugly cry!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kristin Hannah for the advanced reading copy. I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy on February 6th. "The Women" is a must-read for anybody who enjoys strong female characters and powerful storytelling. #KristinHannah #TheWomen #HistoricalFiction #BookReview