If you’re already in Kristin Hannah fan you’re going to read this and love it and I don’t need to talk to you about it. If you’ve never read a Kristin Hannah book I almost don’t want you to read this one first because it’s so amazing I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to top this.
I finished reading this at about 9 PM and I couldn’t do another thing until about midnight as I just sat here, thinking about the story and its characters.
The author did such a great job putting you in the Vietnam war era both on the homefront, and what I imagine overseas was like based on my military experience later in life.
I feel in some small way this honors are veterans from the Vietnam era, including the females that were most certainly there. So do them that honor and check out this book. Be prepared to do some deep thinking and I have a major book hangover.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the amazing opportunity to read this early in exchange, for my honest opinion

Another triumph by Kristin Hannah! This heartfelt tale accompanies nurse Frankie on her journey to Vietnam and back home. Hannah skillfully delves into themes of family, friendship, mental health, misogyny, social justice, love, and the haunting realities of war. Her writing is exquisite, vividly capturing Frankie's unraveling, her futile attempts to seek help, and ultimately, her courageous rebuilding of life. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of women's friendships during such a bleak period in history. While a few situations may be somewhat predictable, they do not overshadow the overall narrative. Moreover, Hannah's depiction of the 60s and 70s ambiance is exceptionally well-executed.

And, of course, Julia Whelan delivers an exceptional audiobook, her storytelling truly captivating.

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for this sincere review."

Set in the 1960’s, between Coronado Island, California and Vietnam, this story takes us on a woman’s journey as a nurse, sister, daughter and friend. Frances (Frankie) has decided to sign up for the military and head out to Vietnam as a military nurse. She feels this calling after her brother Finley is killed in Vietnam months earlier.

The loss of Finley was traumatic for her as well as her family. Her parents do not want her to experience the same fate as her brother, so they aren’t onboard with this at all. She does it anyway and along the way she meets so many interesting people. The fellow nurses are supportive and show her the ropes. They have an unbreakable bond during the war and thereafter. It’s such a fascinating story as the characters are brought to life immediately making it impossible to put the book down. The relationships are complicated but so rewarding and rich.

I was trying to figure out why this story felt like an autobiography or memoir due to the accurate and deep subjects it encompasses. It is also told with such emotion that it would seem that only a person who has personally experienced it would be able to tell the story so powerfully. It was not until I got to the acknowledgments that I realized the extensive research Hannah did. The help she elicited from real people who lived through this experience brought the book to life as one of the best fiction (but feels like non-fiction) books I have ever read.

I have read many Kristin Hannah books and will always look forward to them. She is so talented and graces us with such beautiful words on each and every page. This is sure to be one of 2024’s top historical fiction/family life fiction books.

The Women by Kristin Hannah
Narrated by Julia Whelan

Twenty year old Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a nursing student, wanted to get to be somebody like the men in her family. She wanted to do something that would gain her a place on her father's "heroes wall". Of course, her parents expected her to make a good marriage and have babies, even her nursing work was just a placeholder until she got down to being a wife and mother. There would never be a place for a woman on the "heroes wall".

But Frankie wanted to follow her brother overseas so she signs up with the Army Nurse Corps. Finding out too late that her brother had been killed, his body missing, he'd never be coming home, she'd never get to serve overseas with him, off naive Frankie goes. Everyone was naive back then, not realizing what this war meant and would mean later, what it would do to the nation, how it would change the country and its people. Frankie sails through her basic training but once she lands at her posting, she is thrown into the middle of bloody chaos and war. Just as with the others before her and the others to come after her, there was no preparation for the never ending death and destruction that she and her fellow medical professionals would face.

For decades I've been interested in the Vietnam war and what those who were there went through during and after the war. For many, maybe most of those who made it through their time in Vietnam, their war never ended. Unlike past wars, most of those who served came home to a changed world, not as heroes but as those who were vilified and hated. For the women who served, in whatever capacity they served, they came home invisible, as if they were never there, had never suffered through the horrors the men suffered through. It's true that they weren't there as combatants but so many of the women who were in Vietnam suffered their own kind of personal war, overseas and then at home. They were right there being bombed and bloodied and then were expected to never speak of the experience once home.

There are triggers galore with this story and it seems Frankie gets hit by about everything along the way. This is a long story that covers almost two decades and Frankie's struggles ring true to me although I know she may have had it easier than others would have had it, since she came from a moneyed family. Still, money can't fix everything and the PTSD (completely unrecognized for the women coming home), drug, and alcohol abuse, can bring anyone down in a way that can be impossible to overcome. There is a bit of a Mary Sue in Frankie (the bestest nurse everywhere she went and men falling at her feet) but overall the story got to me so much I just had to give it 5 stars.

I appreciated getting to read/hear directly from the author at the end of the book. She lists so many people I want to know more about and books I want to read. Julia Whelan does a fantastic job with the narration of the audiobook and I had trouble putting either book down despite the long length.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published February 6, 2024.

This book tells the story of Frankie, who enlists as a nurse in the Vietnam War because 1) her brother is there and 2) she wants to be on her father’s Hero Wall. We experience her life as she learns how to be a nurse, how to deal with tragedy, makes new best friends and meets less than honorable men. I could barely put it down. Kristin Hannah outdid herself with this and I learned something vitiated about history: we were there.

This book is incredible. You will get angry. You will get frustrated. You will be appalled. You will cry. You will cheer. It has all the emotions! If you love a strong female character you will love Frankie.

The Women is a powerful, often wrenching story about women who served thanklessly as nurses in the Vietnam war. The protagonist, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, has lived a sheltered, privileged life among the country-club set on Coronado Island. To the chagrin of her parents, Frankie decides to enlist as a nurse after her brother, Finley, joins the Navy. Frankie’s idealized concept of “doing some good to help the war effort” as a nurse is quickly shattered by the brutal reality of the war and the gruesome conditions in which she must live and work.

Not surprisingly, Frankie’s life is irrevocably changed by her ordeal and, like many veterans, she struggles mightily when she returns to the States. Compounding her challenges, women who served in ‘Nam are disregarded and the generally inadequate services offered to male veterans and not available at all for women. Frankie wrestles with demons that often devastate her relationships with family and friends and derail her romantic relationships. While the graphic nature of much of the narrative set in Vietnam made for difficult reading for me, Frankie’s journey to find a “new normal” was compelling and engaging.

The book is well-written over all, and I appreciated that Kristin Hannah avoided some of the obvious, easy-outs to happy endings in Frankie’s romantic relationships. At times, the litany of challenges faced and conditions endured by Vietnam vets seemed formulaic and predictable, learning that women who served faced these same challenges elevated this aspect of the storyline.

Definitely worth a read. I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley for making an advance copy of this book available in return for my unbiased review.

Kristin Hannah has woven an incredible story set in a turbulent time in our history. At times it has the humor and camaraderie of MASH and also as emotionally challenged as Born on the Fourth of July. Very well researched and chronicled to bring you into the life of a combat nurse’s time serving in Vietnam and coping with returning home to a divided and unfriendly nation.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martins Press for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Books don’t get any better than this. Kristin Hannah has done it again. She consistently writes the very best stories, and this one set during the Vietnam War does not disappoint. Honest, human, real and sympathetic, this is a story about the women in war, the nurses who were heroes to our wounded soldiers. A masterpiece! Highly recommended reading. Loved it!

Kristin Hannah does it again. A beautiful, emotional, poignant tale about strong women. Her historical fiction books are the best of her work.

When Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s brother goes to Vietnam, one of his friends says to her, “women can be heroes” and Frankie can’t shake the feeling that she could be doing something more with her nursing training.

Much to her parents’ dismay, Frankie enlists in the Army and quickly finds herself in Vietnam, which is nothing like she had imagined.

Through Frankie, we get a heart-wrenching view of what it was like in Vietnam, and what it was like coming home after. I couldn’t get Frankie’s experiences out of my thoughts for a long time after reading The Women - it was incredibly well written and honored the memory, sacrifice, pain, and experiences of so many.

Thank you to @netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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#thewomen #kristinhannah

I just finished reading an Advance Reader Copy of “The Women” by Kristin Hannah. It releases Feb 6, 2024. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

A historical fiction novel about the women veterans who served in the Vietnam War. There were so many twists and turns I couldn’t figure out what to hope for and which “tidy bow ending” I wanted for the main character. The ending was not at all what I expected. Kristen Hannah deftly shows what war and combat-related PTSD looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Also, the grief associated with losing loved ones, and the difficult and messy familial relationships it leaves in its wake.

Because of the era this was set in, the use of drugs, smoking, drinking, and “free love” are depicted, sometimes, though not always, in a positive light.

What an emotional read for many of us the age of the book’s main character. It brings back memories and feelings of a time of confusion and unrest by using real names, places, events, songs, and clothing styles. The novel covers the horror of working in a medical unit assigned to a front line war zone, the perilous position of being female there, the idiocy of sending tens of thousands of under-trained young men to fight a losing battle, and some questionable decisions made by men in D.C. The second half of the story plays out once the main character returns home and is confronted with a public that doesn’t support what she endured. Many of the problems veterans face are also included, I.e. PTSD, addiction, suicide, loneliness, etc.

This novel was so consuming and well written that it was hard to put down. The author does an amazing job of pulling together so many facets of life of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, both in Vietnam and back in the States. The settings and atmosphere seem perfect and the characters live on the page.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review.

Wow, this book was inspiring and heartbreaking. It was so interesting to hear a story about the women who went to Vietnam as nurses.

I enjoyed following Frankie’s story. How she settled into life and work in Vietnam. How she developed lasting friendships and even love.

It was hard to hear about her homecoming. How she wasn’t given support because people didn’t believe women were in Vietnam. It is clear Frankie is dealing with PTSD. She tries to pull herself together but over the years she devolves until one event finally gets her the support she needs.

There were times I felt like some of the post war time could have been cut down, elements were a bit repetitive. But overall this book was beautiful.

Thank you to #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for providing this #ARC Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is February 6, 2024 • 5 Stars

Frances “Frankie” McGrath is a young nursing student who joins the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. She experiences the grisly horrors of war, the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated field, and the aftermath of returning to an ungrateful and divided country. Hannah presents us with a long-overdue tribute to the heroism, sacrifice, and forgotten role of women who served in that gruesome war.

#Bookstagram #TheWomen #KristinHannah

This book is thoroughly engrossing! From Frankie's being dropped woefully unprepared into the Vietnam war and its horrors to her shock at her reception when she returned to the States to her struggles to readapt to society I was fully engaged.
One of the best things about this book is its portrayal of the depths that a true friendship can achieve and the many ways that love can see us through dark times.
It is heartbreaking that we treated veterans of that war so shamefully. Then and now we need to do better to support the men and women who continue to suffer due to their service in the military.
Following Frankie through her many ups and downs was quite a journey! This is definitely a book that transports you to another time and place.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book for review.

“There were no women in Vietnam,” was what Frankie (Francis) heard when she returned from serving two tours in Vietnam as a surgical nurse in an evac’ hospital and later in a MASH hospital. The friends she made and the trauma she survived impacted the rest of her life. The Women, by Kristen Hannah, follows Frankie as she tried to get her life back together when no one wanted to hear what she needed to tell.

Those of us who grew up listening to the reporters from Vietnam on the evening news know of the turmoil in our nation during those years. Assignations, riots, burning of draft cards and bras were constants. Returning vets were spat upon, treated with disdain, and did not receive the help they needed. This is not an easy book to read, but it shines a light on a piece of our history that should never be forgotten or repeated. Thank you Kristen Hannah for reminding us that every man and woman who served our nation is worthy of respect.

Kristin Hannah is a force, and she is going to wow the world with this one. I predict very big things for this story of the women in Vietnam. Historical fiction isn’t usually my jam, as you may know by now, but war stories are an important part of our shared history, and I applaud any writer who tackles them.

In her prologue, Hannah mentions she’s been thinking about writing a Vietnam story for a long time, but she hasn’t been ready to tackle the subject as a writer until now. For this reader, it was worth the wait. Hannah tells the devastating story of Frankie, a nurse in Vietnam, and how serving in that war impacted her life for years to come. As I’ve come to learn, many Americans never knew there were women serving in Vietnam, and when they came back to the U.S., they were often shut out from support services designed for veterans.

Hannah is such a talented writer and storyteller - I will be shocked if this book is anything but an epic success. I was lucky enough to receive both digital and audio editions, so I got to listen and read eat the same time. Both are phenomenal.

Thanks to @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @macmillanaudio for the advanced copies, both digital and audio. The Women will be out February 6 - would make a great pre-order!

“𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.”

Like a chef with an onion, Hannah deftly peels back the heart of America in the 60s as it navigates the Vietnam Years.

To many, the lure of Vietnam was fuelled by their father’s and uncles’ patriotic service in WW2, a sense of adventure, and a desire to help or make a difference. It was no different for twenty-year-old Frances Grace McGrath from Coronado Island, California. Emboldened by a suggestion that women can be heroes, Frankie enlists in the Army Nurse Corps without her parents’ consent.

“Frankie joined the ANC to find her brother and found herself instead.”

Sixty miles from Saigon, in a four-hundred-bed evac hospital on the coast of Vietnam, Frankie forges lifelines with a surgical nurse from Georgia, Barb Johnson, and an ER nurse from Virginia, Ethel Flint. It’s these 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨 that carry Frankie through her wartime experience and become a buoyant force when she returns stateside.

I loved part one with its focus on the character development and the gritty side of war, but it was part two that spoke to me and moved me.

Hannah explores what a blessing and a curse it was for those in military service. She highlights the elevated authority and autonomy nurses experienced in Vietnam versus the restrictions placed on them as a civilian nurse pre and post-Vietnam. She acknowledges the different strategies used for coping with the burdens of war and the difficult transition most had when they returned home. Not only did they miss the intensity of the wartime experience, but nurses like Frankie were shocked to discover that America was ill-equipped to meet the needs of female Vietnam vets. Not only that, the women had lost who they were and who they wanted to be.

“We were there.”

Come hear their story.

I learned about Agent Orange, MASCAL, ao dais, turtles, Donut Dollies, Gold Star Mothers, and why nurses wore socks and underwear to bed and were repeatedly asking for tampons to be sent despite the PX carrying them.

Quotes that gave me pause:

🤔“How could all this death and destruction be the way to stop communism?”
🤔“War was full of goodbyes, and most of them never really happened; you were always too early or too late.”

🤔Ethel’s warning to Frankie, “The men here, they lie and they die.”

I don’t think I’ll ever drive past the dilapidated Coco Palms Resort in Kauai again without thinking of this book.

It’s been a long time since a book has rendered me useless … Hannah will crack the shell of most readers, rocking them to their core and making them FEEL. Hannah writes to evoke empathy through transportation and she’s both competent and reliable.

Centered around painful goodbyes, lack of time with loved ones, making momentous choices before we have an idea of the consequences and spotlighting the intense bonds forged during wartime, this is Hannah at the top of her game and a book you’ll need on your reading list.

I was gifted this advance copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

My love for Kristin Hannah's writing is what made me read The Women, Vietnam is not a place I visit in my HF reading. I am very glad I read this book, it was an eye-opener to say the least.

Frankie is a naïve 20-year-old raised with privilege, an impulsive decision sent her to nursing school and then she enlisted in the army. The author didn’t hold back on what transpired in the war, from the brutal conditions, the violence as well as the friendships that develop.

I was very thankful that the publisher gave me a digital arc along with the audio book. I found myself listening to the audio following along on my Kindle - it wasn't the type of story that I multitasked with but sat and absorbed it. The story was compelling and gripping.

I'll confess that there were times I have visions of Mash (the tv series) in my brain, but with more primitive conditions. It’s after Frankie comes home that the story becomes more heartbreaking and emotional. It’s during a time when PTSD was not really a thing and the fact that nurses were not considered Vietnam vets, making any type of help unavailable to her.

I’m also thankful also that my copy included the author notes with the authors inspiration, her numerous sources, and her strong desire to get this story out.

The Women is a well written strong historical story, it is a story of friendship, heartache and family along with addiction and longing. I think Kristin Hannah’s best book to date. One that will stay with me for a long while.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for advanced copies. The Women releases on Feb 6, 2024.

An easy 5 star review from me! Kristin Hannah made the Vietnam War and the angst of so many come alive for me.

I am fascinated by the music, the vibe, the generation of the 60's; The Women captured the feelings of a generation perfectly. It also highlighted the fact that there were women actively participating in the Vietnam War, heroes in their own right.

The female friendships in this book were so real. I fully intend to read this book again to savor the words, the feelings and the history. I will recommend this amazing novel to anyone who will listen.