Introduction

Kristin Hannah is an author I have wanted to deep dive into for a while but have taken my time doing so. I go into each one of her stories with the reverence you have when you know you’re starting something you will never experience for the first time again. After reading The Nightingale by Hannah last year, I’ve been itching to pick up another one of her books and the opportunity finally presented itself when I was on a plane for 8 hours a few weeks ago. 

The Women is Kristin Hannah’s newest release that came out February of last year. This fictional novel follows Frankie McGrath, a young woman and a nurse in the 60s, living during the Vietnam War. After her brother enlists to fight in the War, she is told by someone that “women can be heroes” and it changes everything for her. She decides to enlist as a nurse, hoping to make a change and see her brother. This book follows Frankie on her journey as she sees humanity and womanhood through the lens of war and death.

Seeing Frankie’s experience both during and after the War taught me so much about what the Vietnam War likely looked like, politically, socially, and personally, for so many people. Without spoiling anything, I must say that witnessing her experience after coming home from the war as a female veteran was eye opening and will stick with me for years.

Women in the Vietnam War

One of my favorite things in this book is watching Frankie come into herself and find purpose in her life beyond just getting married and having kids. She was raised in a conservative household on Coronado Island. Once Frankie stepped away from that life she realized there was so much more that mattered to her. Frankie went to nursing school because that was one of the few options her mother gave her as a career to pursue in order to better her chances of finding a husband. When Frankie goes to Vietnam however, she realizes that she is actually an amazing nurse with a passion for helping people in whatever way she can. 

Once Frankie was away from the normal expectations of what a woman should or shouldn’t be, she opened up and grew into a strong woman, confident in who she was and what she could do. This freedom to grow, change and develop as a woman is not something that even crossed my mind when considering the experience of being a nurse in this war, but Frankie, along with lots of other women in the book became completely different people during their tours and when they returned, they didn’t fit back into the lives they left behind.

Post War

The second half of this book is about Frankie’s life after the Vietnam war, and her struggles to fit back into her life from before. Between post traumatic stress disorder, trying to find a nursing job that would respect her extensive experience, and even just socializing, Frankie realizes that she doesn’t belong in this old version of her life. In movies and tv shows about war, we see all about what it’s like to be there, fighting and dying in the battles, but we don’t often see what the rest of life looks like after that. Frankie obviously had a difficult time integrating back into her old life after she had grown out of it, and I really liked watching her journey in this part of the story. 

A Note on Kristin Hannah

In my opinion, one of the key things that makes Kristin Hannah such an amazing author is the obvious research and historical knowledge that goes into each one of her books. Both in The Women and The Nightingale, I found myself having a hard time believing that these stories were in fact fictional. She writes stories about women living during terrible times, and while the characters and the exact plotlines are fictional, I find myself haunted by the fact that similar things did happen to real people. She echoes past events through stories of characters you become deeply attached to, and then shows you exactly what real people experienced by putting your new favorite fictional character straight into that history. It’s expertly done and sticks out to me so much in her books.

Conclusion

Overall, this was another great book by Kristin Hannah and I was so glad I picked it up. I laughed, cried, and was so invested in Frankie and her story, and I can’t wait to read another one of Hannah’s books.

Final Rating — 4.5/5

Book cover image from MacMillan Publisher.

Buy The Women either online or at your local bookstore!

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