The Women
The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women.
From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.
“Women can be heroes, too.”
When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When 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.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism and courage under fire define a generation.
Reviews
.
By Jewel....
One of the most emotional and painful books I’ve read, but I could not put it down. The strength, determination, courage and determination of the men and women who fought in Viet Nam were heroes.
By TLD2024
I was in my early teens when the first casualties of Vietnam were announced. I saw friend from high school who enlisted and who were d ‘rafted. I remember the barrage of news with Walter Cronchite that invaded our living room every night, but we were told we were fighting communism and we were winning. “We were the last believers, my generation. We trusted what our parents taught us about right and wrong, good and evil, the American myth of equality and justice and honor.” Yes, just like Hannah said… Reading this novel was a type therapy in many ways to hear the reality of that Vietnam nightmare. All the music of that protest era and the riots were so real. I lived them, but the difference was I was at home safe in my living room. If you want to read a novel based on strong women and men who served in Vietnam, then this novel is a must. Then you need to visit “ The Wall” in DC. If that doesn’t rock your world, I don’t know what will. Am I still a “believer,” well let’s just say that I believe in love, commitment, compassion, & camaraderie . Yet I’ve learned that our leaders aren’t always right, and that we must never again involve ourselves in another, “ Vietnam,”
By DCLS61
This was an excellent novel. Extremely well written and very moving. I couldn’t put it down.
By TC159$
Stunning. Heart breaking. Humbling.
By Dadlab