The Women - is a captivating and entertaining journey into the turbulent world of 1965. Frankie McGrath's exploration of self-discovery amid the chaos of war is vividly portrayed, creating a memorable narrative. The writing effortlessly helps readers visualize the entire book. Highly recommended for its rich characters and exploration of feminism and friendship.

🚁THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah🚁

📆PUB DATE: Feb 6, 2024
➡️Swipe for synopsis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Audio
Read if you like:
🚁Historical fiction centered on women
😭Feeling all the emotions
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Amazing characters with lots of depth

Pretty sure I found a 2024 favorite on January 1st🙌🤩 this book was amazing! I have only read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah and loved it, but know she is a very beloved historical fiction author so I knew this was going to be good. I wasn’t prepared for all the feelings I felt while reading: happy, sad, angry, excited, scared, the list goes on. The Women takes place during the Vietnam War and the main character Frankie is an army nurse in Vietnam, so there are some really tough scenes to read. This story is important to tell because many of the women who served in Vietnam, most of them nurses, were and continue to be overlooked despite their incredible service to their country. Many resources that are available to vets after their service ends (most prominent in this book being mental health resources) were denied to women who served in Vietnam. They were told that they can’t possibly have long-lasting mental or physical effects (ex. from Agent Orange) from their service in Vietnam, even though what they had to endure was horrific. I truly learned so much while reading this and am so glad @kristinhannahauthor decided to tell this story and create these characters that are some of my favorites I have ever read about. This is an absolute must read of 2024!

Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!.
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A view of the Vietnam War through the eyes of women who served as nurses on the field. The audiobook read by Julia Whelan was delightful and kept me entranced throughout the entire story. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a good historical fiction revolving around the Vietnam War.

This is such an important book. Painful, but important. At times the romance felt a bit like a trauma cycle but besides that, I loved it. Kristen Hannah is so skilled at crafting her characters so authentically and just *human.* It was hard not to weep during this book, especially because Julia Whelan brought it to life with her narration. 5/5 for story and narration.

Just finished listening to the audiobook “The Women” by Kristin Hannah.

This book is about the women that served in the Vietnam War. Frankie wants nothing more than to make her parents proud, so she enlists to be an Army nurse in the War.

The author describes the horrors of wars in great detail and the main character has to grow up fast. Knowing what these men and women went through is horrific but also knowing that people believed there were no women in Vietnam was unbelievable.

The book is definitely an eye opener to PTSD and all the horrors of war but as horrible as these things are, the book was terrific. I couldn’t put it down and it was definitely a five star read. I highly recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

The Women 🚁 - Mini Review ⬇️

ARC Audiobook - Pub Date Feb 6th

Honestly, I requested this audiobook on a whim with the mindset of "wouldn’t hurt, I have nothing else to listen to" not knowing that this story would quickly become one of my most loved reads 😊

The characters are perfectly written and just when the story can’t get any better IT DOES 🥰 I know I would have loved the physical read of this one also but listening to it was an easy 10/10.

Before I read this book The Nightingale was my favorite book of all time. Kristin Hannah has done it again. This book was phenomenal. I feel like I traveled back in time and was in the shoes of Frankie as she went through all the emotions of being a woman in war in Vietnam, but more importantly how she coped with coming back into the real world after her tour was over. I feel like I learned more about history in this one book than I did in school growing up. If you’re interested in the audiobook version, Julia Whelan did a wonderful job of bringing the book to life. I didn’t want to stop listening to this book, between Kristin Hannah’s story telling talent and Julia Whelan’s ability to bring the story to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

I loved so much of this book. As she wrote about her time in Vietnam I could feel the heartbreaks and triumphs she had as a surgical nurse. Once she returned her frustration about not being seen as a participant was eye opening. Her PTSD was so unstudied at the time, I can understand the difficulty to receive help and also how helpless she must have felt due to the lack of resources. A well told story front to back.

This was definitely not my favorite Kristin Hannah book, though it was still very good. Hannah is great at immersing you in the world that she has created, and her details on the Vietnam war were haunting. Her writing is still superb. It was just that I had a hard time connecting with the characters of this one. In The Great Alone and The Four Winds, I was deeply connected to the main characters, and the side characters. But in The Women, I had a hard time feeling for Frankie. And there were always so many people in and out of her life, it was hard to keep track of who was who. I also feel like there was an element of romance missing from this one. Both The Great Alone and The Four Winds has an element of romance that, while not the focus of the story, is an integral part in connecting you to the characters. Frankie is never allowed to have that great romance, or if she does it’s not one that readers are allowed to see.
Overall, this was still a very enjoyable read. And Julia Whelan, as always, killed it. She continues to be my favorite audiobook narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Kristin Hannah for giving me access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I almost never re-read books. There are so many new books and i'm so addicted to NetGalley; but when the audio (narratied by Julia Whelan and Kristin Hannah ... incredible!) became available, I couldn't resist. The hardcover is 480 pages, I knew going in that the audio was nearly 15 hours. I jumped at the opportunity! JUMPED should be capitalized.

I've been posting again and again (especially on Facebook's Friends & Fiction group and in other comments on book blogs), The Women is probably the best book I've ever read. I'm sure it will be a book club book in the next several months, and I'll re-read it again ... unquestionably.

My heart goes out to Frankie, again and again. I so love this book! (And it isn't an easy book.)

Below is my original post after reading the electronic version in August 2023; above commentary after listening to the audio version December 2023. Which is better, I prefer audio. But what is best for you is the format YOU prefer. Julia Whelan was a fantastic choice for narrating The Women. Wow, she brings characters to life.

Absolutely the BEST book I've read in a very long time, undoubtedly will be a top rated book in 2024. Publication date is 06 Feb 2024, I would guess that this one will be a top seller for the majority of the year. And it should be!

Frankie's brother is an officer and heading off to Vietnam. Her father has a wall of honor for the men in the family that have served in the military. Frankie is bummed that as a woman she'll never have a place of honor on the family's wall. Frankie investigates the various branches of military service until she finds one that will accept her nursing experience and signs up to serve as a nurse in Vietnam.

I don't want to provide any spoilers in The Women. But Kristin Hannah does a perfect job in writing The Women. It has been a while since a character has held my heart the way Frankie has.

I'm not rounding. The Women is a solid 5 star book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for approving my NetGalley request for the a advance read copy of The Women ... in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review the advance listen copy of The Women in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is Feb 6, 2024.

Did I say I love this book? Unquestionably this will be the best book in 2024.

"How did a woman go about opening up her world? How did one begin a journey when no invitation had been issued?"

Frances "Frankie" lives a comfortable life with her well-off family. After her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she decides to join as a nurse to be close to him. Frankie's values and skills are tested time and time again as she learns to grow up at war and adjust to her life back at home afterward.

What an epic story. There were so many wonderful things about this book that I don't know where to start. This was a beautiful tribute to women who have served in the military and has everything from love, loss, friendship, family, and personal growth. Kristin Hannah is a master storyteller. I was so engrossed in this story I didn't realize I spent most of the day listening to it. I had to know what would happen next. I felt Frankie's pain, frustration, and grief as if i were right there with her. Through her, I got a glimpse of what it was like in Vietnam and the controversy soldiers faced after they returned home and tried to get back to their old lives. It was as heartwrenching as it was eye-opening.

The audio was perfect. The voice was clear and easy to listen to. I typically listen to books around 2.0 speed, and I was easily able to do that with this book. This is honestly something I would pick up and listen to again. This is a wonderful story told with fantastic audio. You MUST read or listen to this if you're a historical fiction and Kristin Hannah lover like myself.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This book is a must-read for 2024!
Kristin Hanna hits it out of the park with this book!
This story is about Frankie, a woman who decides to enlist as an army nurse during the Vietnam war. The writing in this book is so good it delivers all the strong emotions of the characters. I felt like I could clearly see, hear and even smell with the amazing scene by scene descriptive writing. You can feel Frankie’s various emotions throughout this book. Love, loss, frustration and even hope.
I found this book examined a perspective that has yet to be explored. Women considered true Vets in the Vietnam war. Frankie suffered from nightmares, triggers, PTSD from her difficult experiences in the war, but finding help
as a woman was a struggle. Women at that time were not considered “true vets”. The quote Frankie used was “we were there”. With the backlash of the strong public opposition to the war and maltreatment of vets coming home, in addition to being rejected when seeking help at VA by fellow male veterans, The worst of all was when her own parents, her Dad with a strong military background, failed to see all that Frankie had accomplished and experienced. Frankie would suffer. Her story not only about her experience in Vietnam, but trying to find love and happiness after was powerful. I could hardly break away from this book, dying to see what the future held for Frankie.
The author wraps this book up perfectly in the end leaving no stone unturned.
Huge thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan publishing for an eArc for my review. This will be an award winner!!

Kristin Hannah has done it again – this book is AMAZING!
I haven’t really read a lot of books about the Vietnam war and was too young to really remember how the service men and women were treated when they returned to the states.
The Women follows Frankie a recently graduated nurse who volunteers for the Army Nurse Corp. She wants to make a difference and make her dad proud.
The first half of the book takes place in wartime Vietnam where Frankie is quickly thrust into taking care of the severely wounded, dealing with short adequately trained staff and the bad living conditions. She is ill prepared for the life she so readily volunteered for but quickly befriends two other nurses who will become her lifeline in Vietnam and post-Vietnam.
When she returns home, she is stunned to realize that it is not the same country she left. She is called names, spit on and most of all forgotten for all her heroic actions in Vietnam.
The Women tells the true and often raw story of how returning men and women were abandoned by their country. But the adornment was more severe for the women, because no felt like the women actually served in the war – they didn’t see combat. Frankie is told over and over to move on and forget what happened, get married and have children. For Frankie this is an impossible task.
This is without a doubt the best book I read in 2023. It is full of love, betrayal, friendships, loss, hope and most of all resilience. This is a must read.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for my ARC.

Kristin Hannah. does. not. disappoint.
I'm not sure there is another writer who captures the intricacies of the female mind, body, and spirit they way that she can-and does-in every book.

Frankie sets off to war to support her brother, and she's soon wrapped in the arms of female friendships found in Ethel and Bev. While war wages, Frankie forges relationships that support her as she battles self-doubt, romantic pursuits, and the difficulties of being away from home/its comforts.

Even after the war, Frankie's assimilation back into her old life and her family is rife with struggles that clearly accentuate the difficulties she faced while away. She can't unknow details of hardship, and wading through each day when she's doubted, belittled, criticized, and ostracized highlight how rare her friendships with Bev and Ethel.

This was a story that I didn't know I didn't know, and that I didn't know I needed, and that I can't wait to tell everyone to read.

Overall: 5 stars

I'll tell my students about: language, sex, alcohol, drugs, death/gore/violence, mental health, miscarriage

**Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Kristin Hannah is a fantastic storyteller but I sadly did not finish this book. While I was intrigued, I found the war scenes overly intense and gory. This will definitely be a five star read for some though!

4 stars
“We are the women who went to war – the nurses of Vietnam – and many of us felt silenced at home. We lost who we were, who we wanted to be.”
“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn’t quite yet ready to hear it.”

Historical fiction writer, Kristen Hannah, dives into complex subjects, women serving in Vietnam, PTSD and family relationships. Starting in 1966, we follow Francie, who had been told for years that “nursing was an excellent profession for a woman. Teacher. Nurse. Secretary. These were acceptable futures for a girl like her… You’re, only going to be a nurse until you get married.”

Vietnam, the OR, and dying men were a shock to Francie. The war made the women she worked with friends, life-long comrades, sisters. “There was no winning in war. Not this war, anyway. There was just pain and death and destruction; good men coming home either broken beyond repair or in body bags, and bombs dropping on civilians, and a generation of children being orphaned.” (I sadly note, nothing new, still happening, just in different places.)

The book covers decades, but the pacing is moves forward quickly. I connected to the characters more after they returned home. “Had Mom always been a shadow woman, held together by vodka and hair spray?” Frankie has PTSD, before it was an acronym. “Her anxiety and anger had surged, come out of nowhere, and suffocated her…She knew that enforced silence added to her anxiety, increase her anger, but it was undeniably true that even her own family was ashamed of her service.” Vets received no support upon returning home and many people didn’t even realize women had served in Vietnam.

I loved the many references to the soundtrack of the 60’s, phrases, and memories from my teenage years: “a piece of Wonder Bread slathered with butter and sprinkled with sugar,” “listening to Credence, Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Janis, the Beatles, the Animals, Dylan, the Doors. The music of Vietman. The music of their generation.”

Narrator Julia Whelan’s voice is clear and easy to understand. Nuances brought out the emotions and added to the story.

The Women sheds light on little known parts of the 1960s. Highly recommended. I hope it becomes a limited TV series. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dear The Women,
I have said it before, and I am sure I will say it again, Kristin Hannah writes amazing women. I absolutely plowed through you, unable to tear myself away from Frankie and her journey. While there were a few twists that I predicted with ease, you still had those perfect, jaw-dropping moments that I absolutely love. Frankie and Bev and Ethel were forced to be so strong for horrific reasons and you brought the struggle of female veterans to life for me. I loved you whole heartedly and am sad that I don't ever get to read you again for the first time.

I finished this beautiful work today. I had to give myself a couple minutes before I could write a review because the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. Ms. Hannah has a way of ripping my heart out of my chest and then putting it back better than I could have imagined! This story is beautiful in a hard reality way. Our country still has so much to reconcile with the Vietnam war, and I am grateful for this story! Thank you, Ms. Hannah for gifting us, Frances!

A whirlwind of of emotions from beginning to end. Hannah writes in such a way that you are fully immersed into the depths of humid, horrifying, and hellish chaos of the Vietnam war. The characters are phenomenal and the scenes are abundantly raw, from the best and very worst of human nature. Being a nurse is such a deeply moving profession, it's hard to fathom what being a nurse would be like in Nam. Kristin Hannah pulls us in deep into that particular time and place like a sucking chest wound. As terrible and tragic this story can be, Hannah brings to life all of the good hearted, heroic efforts put forth by those just trying to save people. This is an absolute masterpiece, sincerely phenomenal.

Wow ! Just wow ! I literally have no words that can describe how amazing this book is — I plowed through it in one day ! — a stellar job with the narration of the audiobook by Julia Whalen always able to bring the nuances and characters to life . The writing is stellar- Kristen Hannah’s works get better and better with every book she writes. I was so enraptured with Frances “Frankie” MaGrath a nurse during the Vietnam wars -story from beginning to end of her time in Vietnam and after — her experiences , her struggles , her triumphs and her emotions you felt them right along with her — the pain, anger, fear etc — I will need days to digest and recover from reading this book . So many important topics being discussed as well — from women’s recognition to PTSD for war vets . I passionately loved this story and its narration ! Don’t miss out on this absolutely mind blowing novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC- I am privileged to read/ listen to this book. This is my honest review.