The Women
The Women by Kristin Hannah
March 2024
5 out of 5 (wish I could rate higher)
Books N Hooks Book Club
“Thank God for girlfriends. In this crazy, chaotic, divided world that was run by men, you could count on the women.”
“We were all forgotten; all of us Vietnam vets, but the women most of all.”
The Women is about a young girl named Frankie McGarth who becomes a nurse and goes to Vietnam. The first part of the book is about her entering the war, finding her way, meeting new friends and growing as a person. The second part is her return home and the challenges she faced. During the time of the Vietnam war it was not known that women were apart of the war. Coming home she was not welcomed home, suffered through PTSD, addiction, and not a lot of people were willing to help. McGarth shows the reader throughout the book how strong and resilient women truly are, and the challenges women faced during the war, and after. The ending will leave you crying- the growth in herself, family and friends.
This book will pull at all of your emotions- love story, dedication, sadness, integrity, grief, and more.
“Women can be heroes.”
“Nurses back in the world are second-class citizens. And, big surprise—they’re mostly women. Men keep us in boxes, make us wear starched virgin white, and tell us that docs are gods. And the worst part is, we believe them.”
I have never read a Kristin Hannah book before, but I can say after reading this, she is a top ten writer for me and I will be looking into more of her books to read. Kristin did an amazing job with taking a topic that is not talked about often, doing research and making a novel out of it. This type of writing made me think of Jodi Picoult, and how she touches on topics that are often not mentioned. Many of Jodi Picoult books make me want to do more research after reading it and I found myself wanting to research more after this book.
“From here, the war was almost beautiful. Maybe that was a fundamental truth: War looked one way for those who saw it from a safe distance. Close up, the view was different”
Love Story
War
Nursing
Grief/ PTSD/ Addiction
Historical Fiction
Family
“But I feel more guilt about how I treated my daughter when she came home.”… “You’re the hero, aren’t you, Frankie?”
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial located in Washington, DC.
