The Women by Kristin Hannah is a historical fiction based on the Vietnam War

“We Were There”

Getting letters from her brother Finley, who was serving in Vietnam, Frankie McGrath loves the descriptions her brother sends of the country and the way he has found a brotherhood in his fellow soldiers. Believing that patriotism is important, she goes to enlist as a military nurse.
“The Nightly news showed smiling soldiers marching in packs through the Vietnamese jungle and giving the newsmen the thumbs-up. No bloodshed.”
Just as she prepares to tell her parents the news, she gets the news that her brother has been killed in action. Her family has a long line of heroes, but stuck in the belief that only men can be soldiers or serve their country, her choice is a ridiculous idea. She questions her decision, ultimately believing her brother would have wanted her to help her country, and against her parent’s advice, she goes to Vietnam. But what she saw on the news was very different, ending up in a country with a different culture, extreme heat, and explosions that she wasn’t prepared for
“Everyone said the same thing: Communism was an evil that had to be stopped: these were the Cold War years .”
The book is a fast paced historical war era fiction set in the time of the Vietnam war. This is based loosely on different stories from various female members of the armed forces. Women were not see. As equals to men and African American females received the worst treatment.

I enjoyed getting the point of view from the nurses. You felt their feelings, ranging from fear to love. You felt heartbreak when they experienced traumatic experiences, and felt their joy with each small pleasure they had. I loved the group of other nurses, finding Barb and Ethel fun and playful, yet also inspiring. Al though I was aware of how our soldiers were treated upon returning home, I never gave thought to the fact that these female soldiers, these nurses, that were in the line of fire, trying to save a soldier or civilians life, while having bombs create a cacophony of sounds and debris. These same women that watched the bombs, blood and gore, seeing missing arms and or legs, pouring blood, but were the ones who worked tirelessly to help the injured. But yes when they returned home and tried to ask for help, they were told they didn’t matter.
If you enjoy war related stories or books by Lisa Wingate, you would definitely enjoy this book. The author writes it in a way that makes you feel right in the midst of what’s happening. You feel the emotions and care about the characters. Hopefully books like this will enlighten and educate those that haven’t seen the injustice of a was that destroyed so many lives.

My FIRST Kristin Hannah book and I need more!! The way she creates the atmosphere and tells a story was incredible. I felt like I was in the moment of it all. Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators so I knew I would love the way it was read to me. I was so invested in the story I flew through it.

Every character was fascinating in their own way. Frankie was so well developed and I find it difficult for anyone to not love her story. She was so interesting, her story was well told. You could tell so much research went into the Vietnam war. So much respect reading it. I laughed and cried.

I’m so glad this was my first Kristin Hannah book. I highly recommend!

Thanks so much NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC.

Lovely story from a wonderful storyteller. Absolutely love this author stories. Enjoy. Love the audiobook.

Absolutely loved this book! Kristin Hannah brings historical fiction to life in a way to keeps me intrigued. Hannah is able to transport you straight to the Vietnam War with these female nurses. The heartache they faced while serving and then coming home to a country who pushes them aside. This book will break your heart, but also teach you something along the way.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is another dynamic story with great character development and a storyline that will stay with you.

Wow! This was an emotional and eye opening read. While I was a teenager during the Vietnam War, I do remember the bracelets people wore with POW names on them. And my ex-husband’s uncle served during the Vietnam War and suffered emotionally with his memories. I have to admit that I had never considered the “women of Vietnam” ... those who served with the boys and men who fought valiantly. The author did an outstanding amount of research into every aspect of the war. This book will take you right into the guts of the battlefield and have you cringing at the horrors that they had to endure. It was shocking to envision the naivety of the women who volunteer to work as nurses during the war. But I also had to remember that this was a time period when the male opinion was what mattered and the women were not valued as highly. Your heart will ache for the things Frankie, the primary character of the book, physically and emotionally sees and feels while serving in Vietnam but also in the days and years after she returns to the States. As you open this book, be prepared to deal with war, miscarriage, PTSD, death, friendship, heartache, betrayal, love, shame, grief. But it is worth every tear you may shed to get lost in the story of “the women.”

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for the advanced listening and reading copies!

I'm a critical care nurse. What Frankie endured in Vietnam during the war is probably no where near what I deal with on a daily basis at work, but I still couldn’t help but find similarities. The hopelessness when a critically ill patient arrives and we realize there’s not much else we can do and yet we still try. Despite Frankie being a fictional character, I know she is an icon in portraying the thousands of real war time nurses and I thank Kristin for putting a voice and story to these women.

Kristin Hannah did such an amazing job in her research but also in creating a wholesome story. We follow Frankie before the war, during the war, and afterwards. The amount of loss she endured with not only her patients but in herself, was unimaginable. When Frankie returns from war, we find she is a different person. Plagued by PTSD, she is now forced to deal with a new normal. Kristin Hannah broaches these topics with such a respect, I couldn’t help but feel like I learned something valuable when I was done.

🎧: Narrated by Julia Whelan, she does such an amazing job portraying Frankie and the story. I felt every feeling while listening. She’s just so soothing to listen to no matter what she’s narrating!

*Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

Wow. WOW. This book blew me away to such an extent that I literally had to take a couple of months to move on and get this review written. Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors, so I knew I would be requesting this book from NetGalley. When I saw that my favorite narrator, Julia Whelan, would be reading the audiobook, I immediately requested that version. To say I was thrilled to be approved is an understatement.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about this book by now. Kristin Hannah is, without a doubt, one of the most reliable and talented authors of our time. The Women is another incredible and moving novel to add to her list. It exceeded all of my expectations.

This historical fiction book tells the story of Frances “Frankie” McGrath, who follows her brother’s lead and joins the Army Nurse Corps to serve in Vietnam. Frankie has no idea what awaits her in Vietnam, and the danger, destruction, and heartbreak take her by surprise. But what’s waiting for her and her fellow veterans as she returns home may be an even harder battle to fight.

I learned more from this book than I learned in any history class growing up. Finding out what awaited Vietnam veterans back at home was absolutely heartbreaking. If you’re looking for a heartwarming – and, at times, heart-shattering – book, I cannot recommend this enough. I laughed, cried, swooned, and even seethed. As with Kristin Hannah’s other novels, and as is to be expected by the incredible Julia Whelan, this book is an emotional rollercoaster of the best kind. I highly suggest taking the ride.

Frances “Frankie” McGrath is young, naive and privileged when, nearing the end of 1966, she enlists in the Army to serve in Vietnam as a nurse.

Her older brother, Finley, is serving in the Navy, and Frankie wants her own place on the “heroes wall” in their family’s home on tony Coronado Island, California. But reality soon kicks her in her pristine white nurse’s cap: Finley is shot down and killed, and life as a nurse in a mobile hospital near the front lines is an endless stream of horrors.

That’s just the beginning of this tale of tribulation from Hannah, the justly acclaimed author of such books as “Firefly Lane,” “The Nightingale” and “The Four Winds.” If you’ve ever seen an episode of “M*A*S*H,” you’ll recognize the bloody hospital scenes, minus anything approaching a laugh track. And Frankie’s troubles only multiply when she returns to the States, shunned by much of society and turned away when she seeks help at the Veterans Administration because “no women saw combat in Vietnam.”

Eventually, there’s redemption. But the whole thing feels more like a comprehensive research project on the lives of American nurses in the war than the exploration of a character’s life, thoughts and feelings that makes up the best novels — including Hannah’s own top work. Everything about Frankie seems emblematic of what nurses in Vietnam saw, did, thought and felt, instead of feeling like she’s a free agent living a life.

One redeeming feature of the book is the reading by Whelan, who always impresses with her creation of well-rendered characters, both male and female, young and old. Performing as Frankie, as her conflicted mother and father, and as fellow nurses and best friends Barb and Ethel, among many others, Whelan shines again.

I was so grateful to be granted early access to the eaudiobook edition of The Women as the book was on my TBR for 2024, and highly anticipated. The narration and listening experience were top notch. I did have the opportunity since to read the physical book, and am conflicted on which I enjoyed more. I gave the eaudiobook a five star rating and it will be in my top 2024 reads.

What an important story the book tells. Of course there were women serving in Vietnam.! Didn’t many of us grow up watching MASH? Shedding light on this denial by so many Americans, military personnel, and communities brought home another aspect of how challenging these times were for women.

I found the story highly engaging and at times, emotionally wrenching. I haven’t been a fan of some of Kristin Hannah’s other books, and was very engaged and genuinely enthusiastic about this reading experience. The characters were believable, although some were highly unsympathetic, and the storyline well laid out. It was a very fast read and I highly recommend it as an eye opening experience about this period of history.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access in exchange for this impartial review.

Thank you Net Galley for the #alc.

Frankie was told once that Women can be heroes. After her brother Finlay is deployed to Vietnam, she decides to enlist as a nurse so that she could make a difference. Optimistic that she and her brother could serve their country together. Before she can leave the life that's expected, her world is literally split apart when she finds out her brother was killed in the war. With little life or nursing experience, Frankie is thrown into a war zone, and her world is literally, physically, mentally, and emotionally upended.

Befriending Ethel and Barb, nurses in the Army, Frankie quickly becomes a nurse who can serve under the most terrifying and brutal conditions (war). I can hardly imagine how such ravaging devastation, death, injuries, and Mass-cals anyone could endure.

Frankie has lived a somewhat sheltered life, but she believes in doing the right thing. She fell in love with a Dr named Jamie but discovers he was married. She respects his marriage and keeps him at arms length as a beloved friend. Later, Frankie encounters the guy who tells her women could be heroes, too. This relationship in the face of it all becomes a catalyst for Frankie, one that gives her hope for life after she returns home.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the way Hannah centers THE WOMEN. Often, books about war don't include the doctors, nurses, and other women who were very present in some of the most pivotal and ugly parts of human history. How the country they put their lives on the line to serve, erased them, disregarded them, saying women weren't in Vietnam. I never really considered it before this book. The PTSD they suffered and tried to navigate on their own, the way they were told to forget about it and moved on. The shame they felt, the loneliness, and self medicating to get through the day with alcohol and/or drugs. It's completely unacceptable for people to be treated in this way. For them to navigate all of this on their own. And the government's denial and outright lie ls about what was really happening in Vietnam.

My heart goes out to the many veterans and their families, broken lives and hearts.

An epic tale told with emotion and conviction by the very talented Julia Whelan. While the story dips ever so slightly in the middle, Whelan managed to keep me engaged the entire time. She conveys emotion and different character tones well and she had excellent pacing. This book is a top seller for a reason - definitely a story that will stick with you long after the ending.

Loved this book so much! Kristin Hannah is an incredible storyteller who invites her readers into her stories through her characters. Frankie is a young woman full of hope and heroism, who finds herself in a world she doesn’t always recognize: watching Frankie lose and find herself in this novel was a worthwhile journey.

Thank you for this gifted copy #Netgalley. The following is my honest and unbiased review. This was a fantastic historical fiction. I loved the first-person narration and letters between the female friends. There were a surprising number of twists and jaw-dropping moments that kept me so engaged and connected to the characters and their lives. I felt a lot for the main character and everything she went through in country as an army nurse. The raids and bombing scenes were visceral and instrumental in conveying the aftereffects of war, but also the disappearing of war women, who were gaslighted, shamed, and denied services upon returning home. I knew nothing about the context of returning WWII vets versus Vietnam vets and this story taught me about the unfair and unkind treatment towards those returning from Vietnam due to the evolving political and moral issues surrounding the United States' participation in the war. I loved listening to Julia Whelan narrate, as always. Highly recommend.

This was my first Kristen Hannah read and I now know why she has so many fans.

This book was an immersive historical drama with an incredible main character. Frankie was such a clear and engaging young women perfectly exemplifying a very specific transitional time in America.

Well researched, realistic, approachable yet hauntingly violent and bloody. Frankie, a nurse who volunteered to join the Army during the Vietnam war, is subjected to generational trauma, misogyny and lies by her lovers and her government. Her growth is beautiful to witness, I could not look away.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance listening copy of this highly anticipated historical audiobook, performed with her usual
excellence by Julia Whelan.

I had difficulty finishing this book. Most likely, one of the book groups I regularly attend will select it as a monthly read and as I do not like to attend the groups without finishing the title, I will give it another go.

Many people comment on her settings and plot, but his was more a character driven story which is usually to my taste, just not hrer. Perhaps it was the time period revealed in this story that did not cinnect with me.

As always, Julia Whelan was quite good at revealing mood and emotion.

Ok this story got me in the #feels today. It’s a chilly quiet Saturday afternoon. The weather is moody as all hell and so am I. I actually listened to this on audio bc HELLOOOOOOOO it’s done by @macmillan.audio with one of my all time favs @justjuliawhelan !!!
This story started off with a very green new RN barely 18 deciding to follow in her brother’s footsteps (and family’s footsteps) to be a #hero by serving her country in the war of her generation : the #vietnamwar …. Much thanks to @netgalley for making this available and for @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to their wonderful production of the fantastic story by @kristinhannahauthor ❤️❤️ In addition, thanks so much to @stmartinspress for sending me this early copy. I always enjoy Kristin Hannah’s books, but this one OMG hit me so deeply I have to tell you that I was sobbing at the end when her dad called her peanut and said what he said??!!!! (Not a spoiler) I mean… 😭 for real tears … loved this book for SO many reasons. This author has such an amazing way of building a character throughout the story, by making you CARE about them, making you feel what they’re feeling and cringe at their tragedies and cry for their triumphs. Sure Frankie McGrath was just a green, wet behind the ears kinda gal when she flew off to Vietnam, barely a trained nurse for the Army; but as this book shows, so MANY KIDS were the same - unprepared for what they got - unprepared for the unfair treatment when they returned. I was an oblivious kid in the 70s, but I never heard my parents or anyone I KNEW badmouthing veterans. Ever. As an older teen I’d heard stories of ppl being disrespectful to vets and it made me sad. War movies always gave ME shell shock; my mind wouldn’t have been able to handle anyyy of it. Not handling the wounded either like so many women and men did, sometimes while under fire or shelling themselves. I’m so glad this story gave a voice to the women of vietnam, the children & innocents that were destroyed; and the ones who fought for our country even when they had no clue and were scared to death. Highly recommend, 5 star story it will stick with me. 😭❤️😭

In this intimate historical drama, Kristin Hannah pays tribute to the often overlooked women who served in the Vietnam War. Hannah captures the resilience, sacrifice, and unspoken stories of these remarkable women. She made us fall in love with the women, and we cheered, feared, and grieved with them. Despite war’s ravages and post-war struggles, “The Women” stands as a powerful testament to their courage and friendship.

What an amazing book! Once I started listening to it I could not stop and I finished it in 2 days. I fell in love with Frankie and her friends Barb and Ethel and my heart ached for all that they went through. There are not enough books that depict what those who served in the Vietnam War went through. This is definitely a 5 star read for me and it is officially now my favorite book by Kristin Hannah!

Julia Whelan is a wonderful narrator and was perfect for The Women!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 06 February 2024.

No surprise, another masterpiece by Kristin Hannah! Wow. I loved this. While historical fictional isn’t typically my go-to genre, I found the historical aspects so fascinating and engaging! There was little to no info dumping; I was just experiencing the time period through the eyes of rockstar of a character, Frankie McGrath. Talk about a powerful female MC, wow! The suffering and trauma that this character endured was painful and heartbreaking to listen to, but oh so captivating. And narrator Julia Whalen never disappoints! Kristin Hannah has a way of sucking you in and never letting go until the very end. Not only do I feel like I’ve learned a little about a period of history through her books, but her stories are never predictable. The turns the story took left me enthralled and craving more.

Thank you so much to Kristin Hannah, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review! Out now, this one is a can’t miss for historical and contemporary fiction readers who want to be transported to a different time!