Kristin Hannah is one of my all time favourite authors and this book is another incredible read!

Frankie is such a wonderful character and I loved her from the very first page. Her friendship with Ethel and Barb is so heart warming and I really felt like I was in Vietnam with them. The themes of love and loss throughout the book are so detailed and felt so real.

The attention to detail is phenomenal and I could not put this book down. Highly recommend!!

Fantastically compelling. This book is sure to be a huge hit. Ashamedly I don't know much about the Vietnamese war. 'The Women' was a real eye-opener for me. Powerful stuff!

A stunning read that captivates you, educates you, will make your heart sing and your eyes fill with tears.
Spanning nearly 20 years this gives a harrowing insight into the Vietnam War told through the eyes of Frankie and her friends who served in it. The consequences of their sacrifice and the reception they received when they returned home should make America hang it’s head in shame. A brilliantly written work describing generations of people whose lives were either lost or who paid, in some ways, even a higher price.
A new author for me but one whose back catalogue I'll be seeking out.

This book is incredible. I had so many different emotions when reading it.

The Women follows Frankie Mcgrath who decides that she will join the army as a nurse during the Vietnam War.

The way veterans especially women, were treated on their return was disgusting. This novel deals with the reality of returning from war and the PTSD very well.

I felt the main characters were thinly developed and descriptions of the war in Vietnam were superficial. I didn’t really get a sense of the gore or gut wrenching nature of war. The story ultimately was formulaic and I was able to guess the end from a mile away.

This book affected me deeply - I very rarely cry while reading a book but this one made me cry and left me thinking about it for days.

I knew very little about the Vietnam war, the part that women played in the Army Nurse corps, the reception that the veterans received when they returned and the impact on their futures.

Three women meet in Vietnam as nurses, survive their time there and then have to return to their lives at home. The book primarily concentrates on Frankie and her experience of war, her family’s denial of her service and her attempts to live as a civilian. She suffers and is held together by her friends who rescue her and give her a glimpse of a good future. She is failed by the authorities and her own relationship choices but her friends bring her through.

This novel explores the devastating impact of war and the long lasting repercussions for those who served.

A book to be recommended. Not for the faint hearted!

Unfortunately I cannot give feedback on this book as it disappeared from my shelf even though I had downloaded it and it had not reached the expiration date. A pity as I was looking forward to reading the book. Hopefully it is just a glitch and the book will reappear and I can read it. Am giving it the average rating on NetGalley so I don’t change the stats.

Absolutely brilliant, based on a true story this book made me mad and it made me cry! I've reccomended it to all my friends.

“ 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”

When student nurse Frankie hears the words “Women can be heroes too she decides to join the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam not long after her brother is shipped out there.

Having come from a privileged, ideal life in California she realises this was not what she envisioned when she signed up and what she sees shakes her to the core. She is shocked by the turmoil and sheer devastation that this war has caused with men arriving to her OR near death every second. What surprises her the most is the loyalty and respect these men have for each other, the amazing friendships she develops and the small pleasures they manage to find in all the death and destruction.

However, the real struggle starts when she arrives home. The reaction she receives from people is sickening from being spat on to being just plain ignored. People are angry at the war and want to forget it ever happened. No one is slapping her on the back saying well done instead she has become a pariah.

This is a beautiful story of the bravery and courage shown by the women who put themselves at risk to save the men fighting for their country. Lives are lost, hearts and minds are broken. However, even through all the pain and loss friendships and love still blossom.

After reading many of Hannah’s books I feel she can do wrong and can already tell this will be in my top 10 books for 2024. It was an epic and mesmerising read that I will not forget in a hurry.

Thank you so much to @Netgalley for a digital copy of this book.

In 1965 Frances 'Frankie' McGrath's brother enlists for Vietnam. Frankie, a newly qualified nurse, decides to follow and joins the Army Nurses Corps, but at 20-years-old she's totally unprepared for the horrors of war. She's surrounded by death and destruction — men with limbs blown off and those so close to death all she can do is offer comfort in their final moments. But through all the bloodshed and loss of life, she finds enduring friendship with fellow nurses Barb and Ethel.

On returning home to Coronado Island in California, she discovers a changed America. Mentally scarred, her life rapidly spirals out of control. All attempts to seek help for her PTSD are met with refusal and disdain. Will she become yet another victim of the enormous human cost of war?

I thought The Women was yet another amazing novel from talented author Kristin Hannah. Her books take the reader on emotional epic journeys and this one was no exception. It pulled at the heartstrings; painting a vivid ugly picture of war and the terrible loss of life. Being British and born in the late 1960s I knew only the barest facts, but after reading The Women my knowledge and understanding of the Vietnam War has increased exponentially.

The women were largely forgotten. On coming home psychiatric help was available for male veterans — the women were turned away; unrecognised as war heroes. Frankie's story left me shattered; an emotional wreck and heartbroken. The courage of those who fought for their country and those who didn't make it finally being recognised and honoured with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Told with compassion and empathy, The Women was deeply moving and a privilege to read.

As the blurb says "Women can be Heroes" and this book shines a spotlight on the stories of those heroes whose stories are rarely told. A beautiful story, but harrowing and heartbreaking in equal measures.

I did really enjoy the story, but I didn't like the lead character. For me, Frankie came across as a childish, rich girl who lacked any redeeming characteristics to make her likeable. However, I did root for her and her journey which is a credit to the author that can make you care about a character you don't like.
The other Women were the characters that I rooted for. Their camaraderie and growth made the story for me. Their story is one so rarely told, as is highlighted in the story - There are no women in Vietnam - and it is a story that deserves to be told and learned about.

Even though this is a hard story with sad parts it is a binge-able book. Grab this for a weekend read. Grab the tissues and bottle of wine and enjoy The Women.

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn't quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.”

If a book can make the war images less horrific than the post war personal struggles, then the author is doing a great job. Kristian Hannah's The Women addresses specifically the Vietnam war nurses who were refused acknowledgement as veterans through the eyes of Frankie Mcgrath.

1960s US, where war was the business of men, Frankie Mcgrath idolises her brother and volunteers to the war cause to become a hero. Just before she sets off, she gets the news of her brother's death and the parents are not happy about her leaving. The first part of the book depicts in detail the Vietnam life at the camps with MASCAL (mass casuality), gory images of war and a coping mechanism with friends. Frankie's friends for life turn out to be her bunk mates Ethel and Barb.

Frankie faces advances from many men, mostly married and the engaged far from home, but her idealism holds stead and ultimately becomes her undoing. She extends her service by a year to support the worsening condition at Vietnam with more and more civilians getting attacked. Through mails from home, we get to see the polarised view of the war back home and even the army is not sure if they have a plan.

When she ultimately returns, she is shocked by the ignominy she faces from the public. Her parents are ashamed of her and she finds herself haunted by specters from the war. I thought it became a bit of an overkill with too many things happening repeatedly - my own limitation at wanting good things to happen to good people. When she joins the movement to end the war, she is neither considered a veteran or faces constant denial of the fact that women were there in Vietnam.

The book ultimately tries to bring to light the lives of many such women who did not get their due post war despite seeing much worse. I feel, this book is timely, given the wars around the world making heroes and villains out of human beings who can bleed and feel.

Kristin Hannah is back with another meticulously researched historical novel. I love the way that her books shine a light on the forgotten women of history - in this case, the nurses of the Vietnam War. The Women tells the story of sheltered, upper class Frankie McGrath who defies her parents to enlist as a nurse in the army. The book doesn’t shy away from the brutality and futility of war and its impacts on survivors. It follows her during her tours in Vietnam and then again when she returns to America to try and make a life for herself whilst dealing with PTSD. It’s moving, beautiful and sad, and I loved it.

This book was by far my favourite so far this year and it will stay with me for a long time!

Set during the Vietnam War, Frankie McGrath decided to follow her brother and serve her country. What followed was incredible loss, self discovery and strength that she didn't know that she had. One of the biggest battles, however, was when she returned from war and her reintroduced into a world that she'd left behind.

I was hooked on this book. It was so beautifully written and inspring, it was hard not to be drawn in. Frankie is an incredibly strong woman, reading about her journey from pre-war to war and then to post-war brought out emotions in me that a book hasn't done for a while. I felt each of her losses but also her determination and love for her duty as a nurse. I'm looking forward to reading whatever Kristin Hannah writes next!

#TheWomen #NetGalley

Kristin Hannah is truly one of the most talented authors of our generation. No other author can so easily make me feel so deeply. Thsiu story was just gorgeously written and each character was fully realised. The cast of Vietnam, how they have a cheery outlook mixed with despair as a true reflection of the human condition, and the life once they return to the States. Navigating the fallout of the war and then trying to find who they truly are again was just gorgeous. Every page of this book was filled with compassion, emotion and love.

Tears, a raw emotional powerful read, but what a book! This book stands out amongst the rest, loved it!

Coronado Island in California, May 1966 and Frances McGrath, Frankie is sad at the thoughts of her brother Finley about to head off to war, to Vietnam.
Frankie brought up to be a lady, from a wealthy family, expected to marry well, makes a snap decision to follow Finley to war, to be a nurse, to make a difference.
She will certainly make a difference, but at what cost to Frankie?

This is such an emotional and powerful book from the start. I don’t know much about the Vietnamese war, other than snippets I have seen on television, or read about. Certainly an eye opener and I learned about it through this book, which the author researched and took many years before it came to fruition, from reading the acknowledgements at the end.
I feel and felt this book to my core. There were tears. Blood, gore, everything a war could evoke and does.
Those brave women who put themselves forward to make a difference, do what they could.
I was engrossed throughout and will always remember this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this exceptional book

man oh man where to start with this one

women were never in Vietnam

thats what they heard when they came home, they were spat at, not believeable and made to feel inferior, even the vets didnt believe they were over there

and this is their story

they were there, they lived through some horrific times but they served to the best of their abilities and had to survive on their own wits with no help from family or friends

wow its a powerful story and one that will bring tears to your eyes, i couldnt put it down

California, May 1966, and the McGrath family are hosting a farewell and good luck party for their son, Finlay, who has joined the navy and is leaving for service in Vietnam. Frankie, his sister, is a nurse and feels that she should join up and offer her services as a nurse in Vietnam, in the hope of keeping in closer touch with her brother. She is rejected by the Navy and the Air Force, but accepted to serve in the Army. As she is readying for departure the sad news of her brother’s death is given to the family who endeavour to stop Frankie - but too late.

She spends two years in close company with Ethel and Babs and the three become close friends for life. We learn of the awful situations the wounded personnel had to endure and the lifesaving attempts that so often failed. The author creates an extremely vivid picture of the terrors of the Vietnam war and the comradeship created by the situation.
After their two years of service Ethel and Babs return to their homes in the Stares and Frankie becomes the leading nurse, training and helping other rookies to adjust to the awful situation.

When she eventually returns to the USA she finds that she is virtually an outcast as nobody seems to support those who fought on behalf of their country. Even her parents refuse to talk about it and she discovers that they led friends to believe that she had gone to Venice and not Vietnam. As PTSD gets a grip on her she takes to drink and drugs but no veterans organisations offer her help or support as she is a woman.. Will she ever get back to a normal life?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve never met a Kristin Hannah book I didn’t love.

I never read historical stuff because (shock horror) I don’t like history. My friends tell me that this is a ridiculous statement because what are we without history? I was sceptical about how I’d take to ‘The Women’ because of it being about Vietnam, but it only took about two paragraphs for me to entirely buy-in. What a beautiful, horrific tale; one which could very easily be entirely true.

An excellent, well-researched, moving book about a period of history I knew very little about. It follows the journey of Frankie as she enlists for Vietnam as a nurse. It was so well-written and I was drawn into the story from the first line. The author managed to convey a devastating period of time that is unimaginable to many and I appreciated the level of research undertaken. I enjoyed both parts of the book - perhaps the second half a little more although I did have to suspend belief a little bit when both Kye and Jamie were both alive towards the end. The only thing I would change is the title - it’s not really about women but more of Frankie herself. The title also doesn’t convey the power of the story. Otherwise, it’s an exceptional book that I will be recommending.