#7 [2025/CBR17] The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Women (2024) is now the third book I've read by Kristin Hannah. I started with The Great Alone, which I loved. Then I moved on to The Nightingale, which I'd seen on countless 'best of' lists. There were some good things about The Nightingale, but on the whole, I was disappointed with it. So, it was with just a little bit of trepidation that I started The Women. Fortunately, I thought The Women was a very good book. I would put it behind The Great Alone, but significantly ahead of The Nightingale.

The Women follows Frances "Frankie" McGrath as she becomes an army nurse in Vietnam. Frankie grew up in a very privileged home on Coronado Island in San Diego. After her beloved brother graduates from the Naval Academy and goes to Vietnam, Frankie decides that she wants to go there as well. Unfortunately, shortly after her decision, her family is informed that Frankie's brother was killed in action. Frankie's parents do not want her going to Vietnam, and she is struggling with grief over her brother's death, but it's too late.

The first half of the book is all about Frankie's experiences in Vietnam. Her culture shock when she arrives, and the noise, bombardment, and violent injuries she sees all deeply affect her. This book really dives into the violence that Frankie sees and the dangers she faces, as well as how everyone there dealt with the stress. Frankie goes from a FNG ("fucking new guy") with no practical skills to a dedicated and talented surgical nurse. She eventually becomes best friends with her roommates, Ethel and Barb. Frankie also falls for a couple men while she's out there: Jamie and Rye. After two tours, and after Ethel and Barb have already been home for some time, Frankie finally goes home herself.

The second half of the book is Frankie's life after Vietnam. Coming home after two years of unending violence and destruction is as much of a culture shock as first arriving in Vietnam was. I think Hannah did a very good job describing how hard these transitions were. When she comes home, the war is already very unpopular, and that is often taken out on those who were over there. Even at the airport, she is verbally attacked and refused taxi rides. But when she arrives home, the reaction from her parents is even worse. As Frankie tries to digest everything she's been through, her parents want to pretend it never happened. In fact, her father had told everyone that Frankie had been studying abroad in Florence this whole time.

Suddenly, Frankie is struggling with nightmares, flashbacks, and inexplicable anger. Time and again, Ethel and Barb come to Frankie's aid--helping her find some semblance of a normal life. Twice, in desperation, Frankie goes to the VA hospital seeking some kind of help, but she and her problems are abruptly dismissed. She is told "there are no women in Vietnam" and that she wasn't in combat, so she needs to solve her own problems. This was so frustrating to read because it was so obvious that Frankie desperately needed help.

Eventually things come to a head, and Frankie is able to go to an in-patient clinic for addiction. There she is finally treated for PTSD, and she is able to make some progress.

Like I said above, I did enjoy this book. Frankie was a complex, often troubled character, and I wanted the best for her. The book was easy to read and very much a page turner. I read the entire last third of the book one morning when I had plenty of other things to do. I also really appreciate that Hannah focused on the women in the Vietnam war, as they are often overlooked. I thought Hannah did a very good job with Frankie's struggles as she joined the war and then tried to get away from it.

Like The Nightingale, there were a lot of coincidences and somewhat unbelievable aspects to this story. It's something I probably paid more attention to after reading The Nightingale. These coincidences/storylines made the story dramatic, but were often just on the edge of being too much--maybe even spilling over to make the story less believable. For instance, Frankie learns of her brother's death the moment that she is telling her mother that she has enlisted. In addition, many people die in Frankie's arms, and they all seem to survive the exact amount of time it takes for Hannah to describe them. Finally, Frankie just happens to run into a man in three different places across the country because he might just be the next love interest. There are some others that would get into some bigger spoilers, so I will leave it at that. However, even though I noticed some of these unlikely coincidences, this book was still moving and informative. Recommended.