What another stunning book written by Kristin Hannah. I couldn't put it down and read it in one day.

There were so many topics that this story covered that I just can't sing enough praise for them. The main focus is on Frankie, a young nurse from an upper-class California beach-town and her experience in the Vietnam War. It had such well described scenes of what it actually was like to live and work in the horrible and rank conditions in Vietnam. Hannah clearly did a lot of research before writing this story. Her descriptions of the villages and hospitals were so vividly detailed that it made me feel like I was watching a movie instead of reading about it.
Hannah also goes into great details about the struggles and experiences of what happened to the war heroes when they came back to America. How they were spit on and how everyone thought that there were "No Women in Vietnam". The hospitals discredited her time in Vietnam and didn't consider it real nursing experience. She also details the PTSD and emotional and psychological effects that the war had on Frankie and her fellow soldiers and how many of the soldiers experienced nightmares and struggled with addictions. You watch as Frankie goes from a young, timid nurse to a combat nurse and then a damaged soldier whose support comes from her 2 best friends from Vietnam. These friends are like sisters to her, and I loved seeing them have her back at every turn and every joyous milestone in each other's lives. The strength in these women was incredible.

#KristinHannah #NetGalley

Love love love this author. Anything she writes I will gladly devour. This book is no different. I absolutely loved the topic. It was not something I knew much about so I was happy to read! Additionally she brings up very real issues and that was great to see. While some of it was predictable there were definitely some big twists and turns that I did not see coming!

The Women by Kristen Hannah is a historical fiction story. It is a very difficult book to read as I remember the Vietnam War and how the returning soldiers were treated. It was especially upsetting to find that many people didn’t realize that women were over in Vietnam and were the nurses that took care or operated on those that were wounded. This was a very sad time in our country’s history.
Francis “Frankie” McGrath is an Army nurse stationed in some of the worst fighting areas of Vietnam. What she sees and what she has to endure is just terrible. This is the story of Frankie and the two women who become her best friends when they are in Vietnam and the years following. This is a very powerful novel and at times very upsetting to realize what war does to the people that were there.

Must have tissues at the ready for this inspirational and highly emotional read! Words cannot even begin to express the feelings and emotions I experienced while reading this story. I must have cried at least ten times within the first 100 pages. Thirty times by the end. This story was important and powerful and I'm so proud to be a woman. Vietnam was before my time, but I remember as a little girl in the 80s, that no one wanted to talk about it. As an adult, I can now easily realize how horrible this was for those who served our country. Frankie's story is broken into two parts. Part One portrays her time of active duty as an Army nurse and the horrors that she experienced during her stay in Vietnam as well as the love that she found and life-long friendships that were made. Part Two is her life after. Living with PTSD, being shamed by her fellow countrymen, not being recognized as a veteran because she was a woman, not being able to get the help that she needed due to this lack of recognition, and most importantly, not being recognized by her own father. How horrible! I don't want to say much more. I do not want to ruin the story for anyone, but the ending made my heart so happy. Frankie is definitely a hero in my eyes. And women can be heroes, too!

I will say it again. This book made me very emotional. It needs to be read and felt and devoured. It is going to linger with me for a long time and I can see it being the #1 book of 2024.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

Frances McGrath is a sheltered nursing student whose family is known for the men being war heroes. During the Vietnam War, her brother Finley enlists in the Navy to carry on the family tradition on proudly serving. Frances decides should wants to serve as well and enlists to maximize her nursing skills and be brave. An amazing novel that is so descriptive, vivid, sad, honest about the Vietnam War, females in military service, PTSD, loss. This is a book that will make you view life/war/love with a different lense. I was born in the late 80s, and partially knew parts of this extensive history but this book opened my eyes to so many fights I didn’t know were battles, in Vietnam and stateside. A fabulous novel that I will cherish and look back on forever. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I was hooked on this book from the first couple of sentences. Growing up after Vietnam I really knew nothing about what happened and people's experiences, so this book was eye opening to say the least. The first half of the book while Frankie was in Vietnam as a nurse was enthralling and a quick read. The second half of the book was a bit slower, but not in a bad way, if felt like everything was just slower than war. Frankie's struggles were heartbreaking, but her friends were everything! I wish these friends for every woman. This book was action, love story, coming of age and everything in between. I did cry through most of the second half, but it was because I wanted so badly to see Frankie succeed. Remember the women!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and Kristin Hannah for this absolutely stunning book. It was incredible. It was heartbreaking and glorious and everything you want in a book. After I turned the last page, I immediately began to read it again. I just couldn't put it down. I thought that she would never be able to write a book as wonderful as 'The Nightingale.' She did. This book will be the best book of the year and win numerous awards. This story and the characters within will forever be imprinted on my soul. That is the type of book this is. It was amazing. I can't thank Kristin Hannah enough for having the heart and mind and gift to write a book such as this one. Please read it. You won't be sorry. If I could give it 100 stars, I would.

I’ve read every Kristin Hannah book and was offered the opportunity to read The Women synopsis unread. While I am not generally a fan of historical fiction, I felt this story in my soul. I have very little recollection of the Vietnam War. I never considered or gave much thought to the nurses who treated the wounded soldiers. Their experience was horrifying and riveting all at once. The story was a page turner and the character development of Frankie was exceptional. From a naïve nurse starting her career to a hardened and haunted veteran. I found myself rooting for her a feeling every set back and blow as she rejoined society. A must read for anyone looking for a story that will expose you to every emotion from loss to redemption. 5 stars

A powerful, gripping account of a turbulent period of American history that I lived through, but was too young to fully understand. This well-researched, fictional account of Frankie McGrath's service as a combat nurse in Vietnam will bring the experience of returning veterans into focus for those of us who didn't live it, and could never completely appreciate the despair, frustration, and horror that accompanied it. The themes that will stay with me from this story are the revelation that "women can be heroes, too", the unwavering strength of the friendship between the nurses who served together, and the horrific indifference and hostility directed at returning veterans-- in particular, the repeated phrase Frankie encountered that "there were no women in Vietnam." This is an important book that will leave readers inspired to learn more.

Kristin Hannah's books are hit or miss for me, and this one may be even more complicated than that! The Women is about female nurses in Vietnam - most notably, our lead Frankie McGrath, who follows her brother Finley to Vietnam (learning just after enlisting that he's been KIA), but also her two friends Barb & Ethel, who help her both on the ground in Vietnam and later once they're back to civilian life.

First of all, this is obviously well-researched and is subject matter that is close to the author's heart. There is a lot of respect for the nurses and for the most part, there's respect given to just how complicated the issue of the Vietnam War was in America. And beyond that, a large part of this book takes place after the war, when Frankie has to come to terms with the PTSD she's obviously experiencing. Like many vets, she turns to destructive behavior in a quest to simply quiet her traumatic thoughts.

I'd say the part of the book that takes place in Vietnam is my least favorite. She's a little too doe-eyed to start, and then becomes hardened in a sort of unbelievable way. Plus, in many cases in this book it feels like we're hitting certain beats twice: there are two married men who fall for her (incidentally, they also happen to be two presumed dead men who are alive after all). Also - we met Barb here, a Black nurse, and Frankie seems deeply naive about what it means to be a Black nurse in the 1960s. Are you from Mars, Frankie??

Once she returned from service, I felt myself enjoying the book more. Her friendships with both Barb and Ethel were so refreshing - they were there for each other 100% and there was no jealousy amongst them as each woman achieved certain milestones. Barb leaned heavily into protesting the Vietnam War, with Frankie somewhat reluctantly joining her, but neither had any contempt for Ethel who just a more "keep your head down" path.

I guess my biggest complaint with this one is that because Frankie is so dissociated most of the time, I was unable to really settle into her story. Everything sort of happens at a distance, it seems, and the emotional beats never fully landed for me. Plus, as I've mentioned, there are some repetitive story points that meant the ending (which is supposed to be a significant twist) feels cheap.

If you're a fan of Kristin Hannah generally, you will quite like this book. I am an on-and-off KH fan, so I found myself engaged but not always enjoying. Three stars. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins for the ARC.

Kristin Hannah is an amazing author. But you know that by reading her books, she doesn't do happy stories and The Women is no different. This probably hit a little different for me because I read it on a road trip-on the way home from a funeral of a soldier who died by suicide. It did not occur to me how triggering this book could be at the time. It really is beautifully written-Kristin weaves a story of the women who went to Vietnam to serve their country as nurses. They came home, and were treated in some ways, worse than the men who returned. This story had so many betrayals, heartbreak, and very little happiness, that I felt myself becoming the characters themselves. You can't help but feel distraught at how they were treated on the Homefront and I am sure it will bring back those memories for anyone who lived during that time in US history. The story seemed a little choppy or even rushed after chapter 1, but eventually evened itself out. Francie returns home from the war heartbroken, and at a loss of what to do with her PTSD. Her family isn't welcoming, and she soon finds out that she was lied to in more ways than home. I am leaning to believing this might be Miss Hannah's strongest written book in regards to digging into problems and solutions and wrapping up a story.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Women by Kristin Hannah in exchange for my honest opinion. I was beyond thrilled when I received an e-copy!

Kristin Hannah has done it again. Left me in awe and with a huge book hangover. I started this on a Saturday and stayed up until 3:30 Monday morning to finish. And then I was upset that I had finished it so quickly and didn’t take extra time to just soak it all in. Her research into her historical fiction stories is to be hugely respected. Her attention to detail is phenomenal. We all learn history throughout our years in school. Kristin goes beyond what we learned to bring attention to things that should not be ignored.

In the case of The Women, she brings to light the story of the many women that play a major role in war. Mainly, the Vietnam War. Where most people would say “there were no women in the Vietnam war”. They were there, in the thick of things, saving lives, and trying to stay alive. Trying to saves lives, in the dark, while their hospital base is under attack.

We get a glimpse of Frankie’s life before she enlists in the Army as a nurse. Then her life as a nurse. Then we get to see the disrespect she endures when she comes back home. From her family, her friends, strangers, the VA. Nobody seems to want to understand what she is going through. Or what she went through bc she was just a woman.

I could count on one hand how many books I have reread. This is going to be one of them. It will stick with me for a while. Thank Kristin Hannah!

OMG, what a book. I read this in about 2 1/2 days, only putting it down when adult responsibilities called. I’m sure I’ll have a book hangover for days.

Apparently enough time has passed that someone my age, someone who was a teenager in the 60s, can read, endure, and appreciate this story. Told from the perspective of Frankie, a young woman who volunteers as a nurse in Vietnam, nothing is held back outlining the horror of the war, the political issues, and the aftermath on lives of those who returned.

Highly readable, this isn’t just a story of the past, it’s a reminder of what we should not forget in the present.

5/5 Another well written, heart breaking, painstakingly researched novel by Kristin Hannah. This story gives a voice to the female nurses of the Vietnam war, and both told me their untold stories and broke my heart into pieces.

The incomparable Kristen Hannah returns with the story of Frankie McGrath growing up in the conflicted and radical 1960s. When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, Frankie signs up as an army nurse and follows behind. Hannah paints a vivid portrait of the turmoil, confusion, terror, and sacrifice made by the thousands of women who served in Vietnam. This beautifully written book is impossible to put down and will leave a lasting mark on your soul

Very interesting and engaging premise about women who served as nurses in Vietnam. Part 1 backgrounds the protagonist and goes on to live through her experiences during the war. While the writing can be a little flat, the author does a great job of getting across the emotional wallop of being completely unprepared for the reality of war and the slow but steady detachment required to survive. If you remember the TV series China Beach, much of this will feel familiar. Part 2 is about her return home. For me, this is the best part of the book. We are thrown into a sharply divided America. On one side, those like her parents', for whom nothing has changed and no one wants to even acknowledge the war, much less discuss it. And those who oppose the war, who are also championing civil and women's rights. The horrific treatment given to returning vets generally, is magnified by the unwillingness of anyone to acknowledge the presence of women in Vietnam, much less that their experience was any less brutal than the men they treated and tried to save. I wish the writing had been stronger, as this is a story worth reading.

How fortunate was I to be one of the first 1000 readers of The Women, Kristin Hanna’s newest novel, to be published in February 2024. As soon as I received the email invitation, I jumped right on it! Having read all of her previous novels and loved them, this too did not disappoint. It’s been a long time since I reflected on the Vietnam War and the controversy surrounding its legitimacy and how the Vets were treated upon returning home. This historical fiction read, superbly researched, brought it all back. Having the main protagonist Frankie, who volunteered to serve as a Vietnam nurse, with all of her travails, depicted an honest accounting of the atrocities of the war, and its physical and mental impact on all who served, as well as their families. Kudos to the author. #Netgalley, #TheWomen, #KristinHannah.

Helicopters swooping across the landscape, firing at the ground being fired on. “The constant whir of their rotors, the ‘pop-pop-pop’ of mortar attacks. Tanks rolling on dirt roads throwing up red clouds of dust”.

During the Vietnam war, more than 265,000 American women served the military—
Of those women — the majority were nurses. The average age was twenty-three.
The nurses witnessed devastating horrors of wounded men. Brutalities and casualties were endless and forever tragic.
So many men dead and dying. A woman sitting up in bed was holding her dead baby. Gangrene. The smell of burning flesh. Choppers overhead. Alert siren blares.
Absolute devastation.

The Vietnam War is one that many of us remember. I was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. Social Activism and student activism had never been higher.
I lived through the Anti-War protests, the sit-ins, class walk-outs, the frightening reality of ‘the draft’.
I once came seconds from being pulled into a ‘violent-teargas’ riot between police and protests on campus while just walking to class.
My close friend’s brother, was missing in action. He never returned home.
In my generation….we all have memories…stories…even in a weird way: nostalgia. Personally, I never believed I’d live through another ‘unreal’ time of history again in my lifetime. But I was wrong. We had Covid-19, the pandemic.

The shock of the Vietnam War inspired films, music, art, colorful clothing, and ….a divided country. Life changed - people changed.
The culture was distrust and cynicism….. (sounds a little similar to our recent unsettling horrors - many lost lives from Covid — anger high. The divisions of people in our country high.

The Vietnam war ( I guess my own war: the war I feel most attached to) ….created a new type of pop-culture.
…..musicians, filmmakers, novelists, and comedians could be heard everywhere expressing anger, confusion, resistance.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin in the Wind’, for example, gave soldiers a way to start making sense of experiences that didn’t make a lot of sense to them. It was confusing times.
Films like Apocalypse Now, Born on the Fourth of July became Vietnam war cultural icons.
Novels such as “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller, and Slaughterhouse by Kurt Vonnegut reflected the issues raised by the Vietnam war.

And with all this …..
……The history of the Vietnam War 🇻🇳 …..
and the war that seismically changed 🇺🇸 American’s pop culture, — I can’t remember any book, movie, or song that directly gave honor and tribute to the female nurses in Vietnam.
Kudos to Kristin Hannah for doing the deed. BLESS YOU! Thank you, Kristin. “The Women” is an outstanding historical novel ….one that can be enjoyed from ‘all’ generations.

Kristin gave us a page turning story…..filled with emotions, tension, turmoil, innocence, heroism — beauty, violence, and upheavals.
Part I is mostly dedicated to the war itself -
Part II is mostly dedicated to the postwar struggles about returning home.

Kristin brings us fully developed characters (a multifaceted wonderful protagonist) - friendships, a little romantic-drama, poignant, timeless themes about family relationships—
And with all this — (page-turning ‘heart-in-your-throat’ riveting storytelling)….she brings us a new birth of consciousness to the women who served in Vietnam.

We meet protagonist Frances McGrath - (Frankie) - Twenty years old from California. She had a Twiggy-inspired pixie haircut. (love the visual)
Frances wasn’t joking when she told her Mom & Dad that she had just signed on with The Army Nurse Corps.
Her older brother, Finley had been shot down in Vietnam.
Her mom did not want to lose her daughter, too. She begged Frankie not to go. But Frankie said it was all she could think about since her brothers death.
After Basic Training- Frankie was off for Vietnam.

Once in Vietnam, Franke quickly needed to learn the jargon.
VSI stood for very seriously injured.
DPC means clear and debride wounds but don’t close.
She learned not to drink the water unless it was out of a Lister bag or Jerry can.
She also started to take pills to prevent malaria and diarrhea.

Frankie wrote letters home. She told her Mom and Dad how hard it was to express everything that she was doing and learning. She was training to be a surgical nurse.
Most nights she went to bed exhausted, fearful or both.
Every day she worked with under insufferable conditions….heartbreaking suffering patients.
Her new nurse friends: Ethel Flint, an ER nurse from Virginia, and Barb Johnson, a surgical nurse from Georgia, not only kept each other sane during the war …..but remained life time friends after returning home.

Once returning home — and the war still going on —
We see how difficult it was to be at inner peace.
Frankie’s parents had lied about her service in Vietnam. They told their friends she was away, traveling.
The betrayal angered Frankie something fierce.
Life back home was soooooo confusing.

The Vietnam war vets were treated poorly when they returned…..
We learn through Kristin’s novel ….it was the same for the nurses too. Anyone who served in Vietnam came home with little welcome. They came home changed themselves. And they came home to a changed America.

Looking back — I now have more understanding for my ‘collective’ emotion too. I wish now - I would have been more forgiving to ‘all’ who served.
I still have friends today (Vietnam vets) that still stay quiet about their service — as it’s too painful for them to be reminded of how rejected they felt after returning home.

The Vietnam War was the war we didn’t understand— it lasted from 1964 to 1973—The longest war in American history.

Through reading this book…..my awareness has been heightened….my emotions once again intensified….
A terrific book to open for discussion…..

And……sometimes we just need music to help us deal with all these emotions.
🎶 [sing along]
“We Gotta Get Out of this Place”
by The Animals.

Many thanks Kirstin, St.Martin’s Publishing, and Netgalley


“It was the way of Vietnam; people came, they did their tour, and they left. The lucky ones, like Ethel, flew home in one piece. Some wanted parties for their send-off and some wanted to slip away in silence. Some wanted both. Either way, you woke up one day, and your friend was just gone”.

“The Women,” a historical fiction novel set during and after the Vietnam War, sheds a much needed light on this period of history. The protagonist, Frances (“Frankie”) McGrath, inspired by her father’s “hero wall” filled with photos of family “war heroes,”decides to volunteer for duty in Vietnam as an Army Nurse, following in her brother’s footsteps.

The first half of the book covers the period when she’s serving in Vietnam, detailing the horrors she saw but also the camaraderie and friendship formed by the people she encounters there. With vivid prose, the author brings to life the sights, sounds and smells of a medical unit in war torn Vietnam.

The second half of the book chronicles Frankie’s struggle after the war, where she is reviled for her service by strangers and family alike. In this part of the book, the reader experiences Frankie’s battle against PTSD, including nightmares, alcoholism, drug abuse and bouts of uncontrolled rage. It also details her inability to find help, when her concerns are dismissed by everyone from whom she seeks it, including the veterans’ groups that were formed to help those who served in the conflict, who insisted that “women didn’t serve in Vietnam”.

The author does an excellent job of portraying the war experiences as well as the post war struggles of veterans, particularly the women whose contributions were largely ignored. I highly recommend this book to those who love a vivid historical fiction novel, with strong, multi-faceted characters.

Kristin Hannah's new book is THE WOMEN. The story revolves around the women who served in Vietnam during the war. Francis (Frankie) McGrath is a young girl when her brother is sent to serve in Vietnam. The type of girl who was taught to do the 'right thing" I am a product of that generation. I graduated high school in 1966 and many of my fellow classmates and friends were drafted or volunteered and served in Vietnam. Some of the them returned...Many did not. It is quite evident that a lot of research was put into this story as I felt like I was back in 1966-1972 as I read along. Frankie and so many other men and women who served during this time were unappreciated... It was a thoughtless war and the men and women who served were wrongly looked down upon. Many people were not aware of the many women who served and gave their life for this country as they sacrificed everything to help others. Besides losing their lives...many women and men came back to a different world and spent many years trying to overcome both the physical and mental problems they suffered. Kristin Hannah has done it again...a story that all Americans should read. This wonderful author has another hit on her hands and one where she will educate others about some of the history of our country and the wonderful women (and men) who gave their time and effort, and sometimes their lives, for us.....