Main Characters
- Frankie McGrath
- Jamie Callahan
- Ethel Flint
- Barb Johnson
Publisher’s Summary
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she 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. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
Recent Reviews
The Women Book Review
Let’s get the “bad” news out of the way before the good: I didn’t like this book as much as The Nightingale, but I still gave it a 5-star review for different reasons.
This book deserves its own movie. It was beautifully hard, full of raw emotions. I loved Frances’s story — the young, naive woman who signed up for war, hoping to earn a place on her family’s wall of heroes. Heroes who were all men. I loved experiencing her world shift from the privileged lens of an entitled white woman to something completely different. Watching her character develop was compelling, though I hated the pain she endured and how cruelly she was treated when she returned home. What a harsh world.
As I said, this book is full of emotion.
Listen to The Women Here
Purchase The Woman Here
Book Photos
Book Quotes
The world changes for men, Frances. For women, it stays pretty much the same.
― Kristin Hannah, The Women
Love mattered in this ruined world, but so did honor. What was one without the other?
― Kristin Hannah, The Women
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.
― Kristin Hannah, The Women
Discover more from ROMINA'S LIFE
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.