Title: The Women
Author: Kristin Hannah
Pub. Date: February 6th 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: eARC
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 471
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“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒶 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓎𝑒𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒾𝓉, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈. 𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒.”
Frances “Frankie” McGrath is a twenty year old nursing student living a privileged life with her parents and older brother in Southern California. She descends from a family of heroes (all men) who have fought in wars, their photos hang on her father’s office wall. Their family believe there’s honor in fighting for your country and that is exactly what her brother has enlisted to do. It’s 1965 and her brother has shipped out to Vietnam when Frankie hears the message his best friend passes along…Women can be heroes. This sparks a need in her to heed the call which she does by joining the Army Nurse Corps. No one saw this move coming but to Frankie it was simple. Joining the Army Nurse Corps would allow her to be close to her brother and also bring honor to her family and join the wall of men in her family who have fought for the country. When she lands in Vietnam, inexperienced yet optimistic, the severity of what she has stepped into truly hits. Frankie is thrust into chaos, destruction, loss and sadness on day one. Young soldiers missing their loved ones are seen rushed into her trauma unit with missing limbs, many in their last moments of life. The doctors and nurses are all stretched thin and exhausted while trying to save as many lives as possible with what little resources they have. All the while, there are bombs being dropped nearby and every flyover is a reason to hold your breath while keeping your cool. In the midst of it all, Frankie befriends Ethel and Barb who are two strong women looking out for her. They remind her of their role in this war, plans for the future if they make it out alive, and a sisterhood she will forever be a part of.
This was my first Kristin Hannah and ahhhh how I’m kicking myself for having waited this long to read The Women. In part it was the I’m never in the mood to read about war but also, this author is so beloved that I was a bit intimidated. All of that went out the window when I sat down one Saturday afternoon and read the very first page. I was immediately transported to Vietnam in an immersive reading experience (the audiobook was a 10/10) that would not let me walk away. Frankie was endearing, watching her character growth in a chaotic setting was tough but I was invested in seeing her come away with something after all the pain. Kristin Hannah really put our girl through the ringer with heartbreak but also gave her two amazing female friendships. Ethel (think red headed sweetheart who loves a farm/bad a** nurse) and Barb (Black surgical nurse with an activist heart who stands in her convictions!) – they absolutely stand out as most memorable characters that were superbly fleshed out. They’re also a bridge to the outside world beyond Vietnam where the women in this war were largely forgotten rather than acknowledged for their contributions. This was a rollercoaster of emotions reading experience, if I wasn’t anxious for them then I was crying at the hopelessness surrounding everyone in this war on both sides. Every heartbreak that molded Frankie into the person she becomes at the end of this story was heartfelt. Kristin Hannah doesn’t just throw you into the fight for women veterans in Vietnam to be recognized, she makes you go to Vietnam first and see it through these brave women’s eyes. You will walk away with an immense feeling of admiration for these women heroes who absolutely played pivotal roles in this countries history.
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