This is my favorite read from Kristin Hannah so far. What a powerful story giving us a window into the lives of our Vietnam soldiers and nurses.

Part 1 gives us an inside look at army nursing on a battlefield through the eyes of Frankie McGrath. Deplorable living conditions, incoming wounded at all hours, and having to say good bye to patients who die on the table, those who return stateside, and the coworkers who end their tours and go back to their old lives. No one prepares Frankie for her return home. She is spit upon, yelled at, and even her parents pretended she was abroad rather than tell their friends what she was really doing.

Part 2 is Frankie's continued unravelling as even the VA turns her away when she asks for help. She hears over and over that there weren't any women in Vietnam! Every veteran is unique and Frankie simply could not move ahead in the same way that her best friends had.

What is so clear is the need for our veterans to talk about their experiences -- especially with others who have been there, too. A few years ago I heard a Vietnam nurse talk about a group she has been working with to help veterans heal by taking them back in country with other vets. Her name is Lou Eisenbrandt and I highly recommend her book: Vietnam Nurse which won a Silver Medal Award from the Military Writers Society of America. I also want to commend Julia Whelan for her excellent performance in narrating this new release.

A big thank you to St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for both digital and audio ARCs of this new title in exchange for an honest review.

I love Kristin Hannah books. I sell them all the time at the store. One of my favourites is Nightingale. I was excited for a new Kristin Hannah book. Unfortunately, this book is not for me. I'm certain it is an excellent story and well written. I just found some of the details too graphic. I know this is a book about war but I wasn't expecting in depth details of wounds and death. I was struggling to keep reading but page 65 when the doctor saws off the hand of a young girl was too much for me. I will still recommend it because it's Kristin Hannah but with a warning.

What an emotional, well-written story of the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War, The Women. I was in elementary and middle school during the war. I remember the sadness and heartbreak when the soldiers returned home, not receiving the recognition they deserved. I wore a couple of POW/MIA bracelets; one came home and one never did. I didn’t know the story of the women who served, though. Just as in other historical events that should never be forgotten, we need to remember the heroic actions of both the men and women who served their country during a very controversial war. And we need to honor their service. In my opinion, this is a must read for everyone!

“Women can be heroes too”…these words change everything that young nursing student Frankie thought she knew. It’s the 1960s, the country is changing and the war in Vietnam is raging. Though Frankie has always prided herself on being a good girl and doing what her parents expect of her, she impulsively joins the Army Nursing Corp after her brother ships out to Vietnam. She is shocked by what she encounters - why is the savage reality of the war so very different from what the American Media has been reporting? Frankie learns quickly and by the time her tour is over, she doesn’t know how to function back home. Worse still, the country’s opinion of the war has changed drastically from when she left. The returning heroes are treated like criminals. Throughout the years, she struggles to find a place in the world but nothing seems right anymore.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite writers. Her books always draw me in with their carefully crafted plots, complex characters and so much humanity and emotion. “The Women” is no different. Told from Frankie’s perspective, we follow her to Vietnam, back home and on a long journey of self-discovery and healing. Her story was so emotionally charged and I thought Hannah did a very respectful job describing what it must feel like for a veteran returning to regular life after seeing the atrocities of war. As Frankie heard repeatedly, “there were no women in Vietnam”, but there were - they were nursing, right down in the thick of it alongside the men. It was so frustrating to see her dismissed over and over again, and I was rooting so hard for her to find her way. In “The Women”, Kristin Hannah brings a time in history alive so beautifully. Don’t skip the author’s note at the end, as she explains why this part of history is so dear to her. I am SO glad I had the audio for this (narrated by January LaVoy with an appearance from Kristin Hannah too), because I simply could not stop until I knew how the story ended! Easily a contender for book of the year.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kristin Hannah for the ARC! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

This is what I love about historical fiction. In the hands of master storyteller Kristin Hannah, THE WOMEN follows Frankie as she enlists to serve as a nurse in Vietnam. What starts off as a war story evolves into a thoughtful exploration of PTSD, sexism in the military, and reimagining a new life when old dreams are stripped away.

The women were overlooked, undervalued upon their return, and left to feel ashamed about their service. I appreciated how Hannah shines a light on the women who served and how their experience returning home differed from that of their male counterparts.

You can bet you’ll see this one make an appearance in my Winter Reading Guide out January 11th!

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)
PUB DATE: February 6, 2024

Many thanks to Saint Martin’s Press for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE EASIEST 5 STAR READ I HAVE EVER READ.

Kristin Hannah absolutely transports readers into the trauma, political environment, gender divide and more of the Vietnam War. I felt this book deep in my soul and was immersed into this story. I know very little about the Vietnam War and Hannah shows the atrocities of the war, both in the war itself and how we treated the veteran's. She handles it with grace and does not hold back. I wanted our main character to find joy and peace and loved how every aspect of this story unfolded. This book put me in the worst book hangover. Highly recommend.

Thank you MacMillan audio and St Martin's Press for copies of The Women by Kristin Hannah. My thoughts are my own and heck many people will read this because it's a great theme and a popular author.

And yet my two cents:

Kristin Hannah always does a great job of finding an interesting/women in history topic and delivering a thought provoking set of themes and contexts but... it's the same story, a naive woman finds herself in a space where she has to learn quickly to adapt/becomes stronger than she realizes, encounters a range of challenges and tragedies, complicated romance issues arise, and she has to show resilience in the face of trauma and adversity and comes out some how stronger but damaged for all that she endured. Does this work for many readers? Sure and that's great, it just feels like the settings and real world history, and more diverse identities...., need more that the run through the big and expected themes.

This is book is also LONG, it felt like there were some parts that could have been streamlined more, edited out and the main themes and plot points would not have been lost.

What does work: 100% here for the themes on veterans and mental health and public support, themes on political discord, and of course recognizing all who did serve in the Vietnam war.

Did I still find myself sucked in at times, well yes I did and that's the little magic of the author and a lot of the joy of listening to Julia Whelan make me care about the work she narrates.

5 star plot potential, 3-4 star execution for me, 5 star audio narration

You will 100% need tissues handy as you read this book! Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down. The story will tear at your heartstrings and you will go through many emotions reading it. The multi year joury we go on with Frankie is one that will stay with me. You will connect with the characters and feel like they are part of you. Such a beautiful story and so well written.

Amazing story. Well researched and written with a compelling setting and brave strong characters. Her best yet!

I am writing this review through a veritable CURTAIN of tears because I am fully sobbing. This book was incredible.

Before I began this book, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to get into a historical fiction right now (too much brain power for my sleep deprived state - children teething with a cold should be outlawed!) but I needn’t have worried; I was swept up into the story from the very start.

Frankie was a remarkable heroine. This book was chock full of incredible characters, all of which came off as incredibly real, sometimes painfully so. The writing of this novel was impeccable. I felt such strong emotions as I made my way through the book and through Frankie’s story (as evidenced by my sob fest at the end). When Frankie was longing, I also longed. When Frankie felt obsessed, I also felt obsessed. When she was despondent, I was in the pits with her. The writing was just that strong.

I do wish a little more post-war time had been spent describing her interactions with Ethel and Barb (like their time in Virginia) or her time working as a nurse - a lot of it was dedicated to her repetitive destructive cycle. I understand why that was - there was no shying away from the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life, especially given the circumstances. But I felt like it might’ve helped balance things a bit. Regardless, Kristin Hannah is an unimpeachably magnificent author and researcher. I learned SO much from this book. I also loved how in her note, she said that she conceived of this book many years ago but didn’t feel she was a strong enough writer to take on this topic at the time. Well, she certainly did it justice now. Talk about self-awareness! I’m so glad she waited so that we could all be treated to this absolute masterpiece.

I would read it all over again, but I’m still reeling from all the emotions. I couldn’t put this down. I was actually happy when my daughter woke up overnight because it meant I could rock her back to sleep while reading. I don’t know if I’ve experienced a “book hangover” before - but I think it’s what I’m feeling right now. It’s going to be a few days before I can get into a new one, and even then, I’m afraid it’s going to feel like I’m cheating on The Women.

I loved this. Is that clear? Highly, highly, highly recommend. Thank you so very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review. I’ll be preordering this, no question.

5/5 stars, as if that wasn’t obvious.

My first Kristin Hannah novel and I absolutely loved it!
I’ve heard various things about Hannah and her style of writing but I throughly enjoyed The Women.
It is an unflinching portrayal of the women whose contributions in war are forgotten. An aspect that drew me in was Hannah’s portrayal of her protagonist — an imperfect and flawed woman who struggles with her traumas from the war. I don’t see it enough how trauma effects people’s decision-making and relationships with people in general, so I loved that Hannah made that apparent.

Wow! I just finished Kristin Hannah's upcoming novel The Women. And WoW again .

The story follows a young nurse., Frankie who volunteers to join the Army during Vietnam. It chronicles her life during the war and after. A woman joining the war effort was not recognized back then and not spoken about. You can not help but to fall in love with Frankie and feel her joys, sorrow and pain. The bond the veteran women in the story make during their tour for life is fierce and loyal,

I was a baby at the tail end of the war. I read a lot of WW2 historical fiction. I believe this was a first for me reading a Vietnam one. Thank you Kristin Hannah for telling a story that was way over due to be told. I can wait for e the tv series this better become!! #NetGalley #KrisitnHannah #Stmartinspress #TheWomen

Kristin Hannah is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Her books are well written, with real life characters and are very thought provoking novels. So far I have loved all her books that I have read.

An amazing and inspiring story of a young woman who was a nurse during the Vietnam war. Her trials, friendships, relationships and the aftermath of war are explored in this book. The details of the struggles, the ptsd, drug and alcohol addictions and trying to get back to normal life after serving are brought to life by the author so perfectly, it makes you feel like you were there with them. The women faced such hardships coming back from war with little to no support.

This book is highly readable and not just a story of the past, it is a reminder of what we shouldn’t forget in the present.

I highly recommend reading this story. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for an advance Copt of this book.

This book. Oh man. It really did something to me. I tried to keep myself emotionally distant while I was reading it because this is not my first rodeo with Kristin Hannah but she still managed to get to me. She just has this way of shining a spotlight on the ugly things in life put somehow manages to still find the beautiful. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know if I would finish this book, it was so raw. The field hospitals of Vietnam in the late 1960’s were the stuff of nightmares. And as bad at is was being under mortar attack while trying to save the lives of the wounded and dying, it was actually harder for me to go with Frankie back to the United States when her tour was over. I did not want to be affected by what Frankie went through. I wanted to keep my ignorance about Vietnam, I didn’t want to think too hard about the way thousands of lives were obliterated either in literal death or PTSD and it’s aftermath. But this book wouldn’t let me do that. And even when Frankie was hard to like, I never stopped cheering her on. I wanted peace for our girl.
I loved both "The Nightingale" and "The Great Alone" and I'll always have a fond place in my heart for them, but "The Women" will be one I take with me forever. It actually changed the way I think about a vital part of our history. It broke me and with tender patient hands helped me find new ground, albeit on unsteady feet. This book is hard, and real, and my feelings are messy and complicated. Also, please note that the trigger warning for this book is longer than your Costco receipt. You will need to be brave. But I do not think you will be sorry.

I really enjoyed this book. You can not help but connect to these characters, especially the main character, Frankie. Her story is not an easy one. This woman goes through so much, but reading her overcome her troubles was inspiring.

Read this book! You will be captivated

Kristin Hannah does it again! knew I was going to love this book as soon as I saw it.

I thought this was going to mostly take place in Vietnam. The first half is action-packed and Kristin Hannah does such a great job of describing the setting and the characters’ experiences. I was immediately sucked in.

The second half is about Frankie starting life back in California. She is struggling with PTSD, relationship problems, health complications from what she was exposed to in Vietnam, and that no one recognized her as a Veteran of the war, because ‘there were no women in Vietnam.’

Frankie is one of my favorite characters. She is determined, strong, and flawed. I loved the beautiful friendship between her and two other nurses she served with, how they ebbed and flowed in each other’s lives but were always there when needed.

I think my heart broke at least three times while reading this. I think the ending was perfect.

I really appreciate the amount of research Kristin Hannah did to make this story authentic. She certainly made me interested in learning more and I will be checking out the books she recommended in the afterword.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

THIS IS AMAZING. Kristen Hannah gets me every single time. I feel so lucky to have received this book. I had no idea about the women of Vietnam and took some time to deep dive into how they served after reading this. I wish that my dad, who served in Vietnam, was still around for me to discuss this with. I had a feeling she was going to end up with PTSD and was sad to see the spiral it caused in her life. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

This is a very tough review for me to write, to separate out my personal experiences with a Vietnam Veteran and this book. But sharing this story is part of the message of this story: they were there. Do not forget them.
Backstory: my father was a Marine in the Vietnam War on the DMZ from 1967-1968. He was an enlistee and came home in 1969 to a country that hated him, his parents ignored him, and his grief, suffering, and trauma were never fixed. He slept in his room for a week, no one ever bothered to check in on him. It was shameful to my grandparents that he had gone (even though my father came from a long line of those who had served in wars) and while my father got sicker and sicker from whatever he had picked up in Vietnam, they let him be in his room, ignoring the problem until he needed to be taken to the hospital.
He had untreated PTSD, anger management problems, became a prescription drug addict, and was physically and emotionally violent. Jane Fonda was a swear word in my house growing up. I've often told people that the choices we make, in this case my father's decision to enlist, can have ramifications beyond that simple choice- the tendrils of that touch everyone they meet.
So here's this book. A book about women serving in Vietnam, so few fiction books written about the Vietnam experience. I chose this book for our bookmarked subscription box at work because the story of these women, and stories about Vietnam need to be told, and listened to.
This is not an easy book to read. Hannah includes descriptions of war violence, war injuries, and death, as well as PTSD, drug and alcohol addiction, etc. While I was not the one who served in Vietnam, this book was as familiar to me as wearing a well-used pair of shoes.
You need to read this book. Only if to understand what people went through while there, what they endured when they came home, and how things have changed because of all of that. When you talk to someone about the Vietnam War, people shrug away, don't want to talk about it. Many likely feel ashamed about how they treated veterans when they came home. Others feel shame about their service or are unable to talk about what they experienced there. It's ok to have complex thoughts about the war and have open and honest conversations about it. I know I certainly do, because of how deeply it has affected my life.
Many of Frankie's stories, situations, were so similar to my father's, and I'm sure typical of others. I hope this book opens a door for more to share their experience, as memoirs, in nonfiction, or fictional stories to be told. We need to honor their service and sacrifice, even if we do not agree to the war they fought in.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this e-book.

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frankie McGrath is told “women can be heroes, too” she has a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, Frankie has prided herself on being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

This novel holds so much importance. I learned so much from this novel, mainly through the eyes of Frankie. This book not only covers what it was like for soldiers and nurses alike in Vietnam, but how the women were treated upon their return. Being told there were no women in Vietnam, when there were many serving as nurses and Red Cross aides who came back home only to pretend as if their service never happened. Frankie's relationships with her fellow nurses and her romantic relationships were so well written, I found myself cheering the women on and rooting for Frankie (I cannot say more without spoilers). This may be Kristin Hannah's best work yet!

I could go on and on about this book, but I will leave that pleasure up to the reader. To all the women who served in Vietnam, we know you were there and thank you for your service!

Where would we women be without our girlfriends? Certainly no one learns that better than the nurses who served in Vietnam! Kristin Hannah illustrates this so vividly in her heart-wrenching, touching new novel, which is titled simply The Women.

Frances “Frankie” McGrath is an idealistic 21-year-old woman who wants to follow her brother when he ships out to war. She learns that the quickest path is to become an Army nurse, so after she completes her basic training in 1965, she ships out to Vietnam. She quickly finds that she is totally unprepared for the realities of life as an Army nurse during the chaos of war. With the help of her fellow nurses, Barb Johnson, a surgical nurse from Georgia, and Ethel Flint, ER nurse from Virginia, Frankie (AKA Frank), learns the ropes. Along the way, she gets lots of help from the doctors, who also show more than professional interest in her. But Frankie tries hard to sticks to her morals.

Back home, the war becomes increasingly unpopular. Her upper-crust parents don’t understand. Her father’s “Heroes Wall” has pictures of male soldiers, including her brother; war is not for women, he feels. Her mother seems to agree. Frankie keeps her nose to the grindstone and does her job. Nursing is her calling. Despite the pain of seeing young men blown to bits and innocent civilians burned beyond recognition by Napalm, she continues to work long shifts, sleeps little, and keeps on keeping on. Frankie McGrath is a stellar nurse. Like the other nurses, she is a hero.

When she finally returns home, she is shocked at the welcome she receives. She’s not made to feel welcome at all – not at the airport, not by taxi drivers, and barely by her own parents. They try to pretend she never served in the Army. She has nightmares, PTSD. She’s a mess. She relies upon her two friends, but they have their own lives now. Even the organizations that help veterans deny that women ever served in Vietnam. Should it be up to the women themselves to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” ? (to quote a former president) Not all the choices she makes are good ones, but sometimes a person must reach rock bottom to seek change and find the right path.

I marveled at the realism in this book. I cried, particularly at the scenes where villagers, children died. I raged. I got goosebumps at several scenes toward the end when Frankie’s life was turning around. She was healing and helping others. The women were working together. The women were being recognized. Would Frankie finally find the happiness and the love she longed for?

I’ve read some wonderful books by Kristin Hannah. This one, although it is very tough to read at times, is marvelously written and researched.

If I could give 10 stars, I would.

I received a digital copy of The Women in exchange for my honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Kristin Hannah.