Title: THE WOMEN
Author: Kristin Hannah
ISBN: 9781035005680
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 472
Source: Private Copy
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 over-whelmed 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.
Official Summary
07 May 2025
Yes, I know! Historical fiction is a genre I generally do not add to my TBR. But Wow. Just… wow. The Women by Kristin Hannah is one of those rare books that reaches inside you, rearranges your emotions, and leaves you stunned long after you’ve turned the final page. I knew going in that this would be an emotional read—it’s Kristin Hannah, after all—but nothing could’ve prepared me for the power and heartbreak of this story.
Frankie McGrath is the kind of protagonist who stays with you. Sheltered, naive, and shaped by her conservative upbringing, she starts her journey in 1965 as a nursing student simply wanting to do something when her brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. Her decision to join the Army Nurse Corps takes her down a path that’s equal parts horrifying and beautiful—because while war exposes her to unimaginable trauma, it also forces her to grow into a version of herself that’s bold, resilient, and deeply human.
Kristin Hannah doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war, nor from the often-erased role women played in it. The scenes in Vietnam are intense and gut-wrenching, but what hit me just as hard—if not harder—was Frankie’s return home. The indifference, the judgment, the loneliness… it was almost harder to read than the battlefield scenes. This book shines a harsh but necessary light on how female veterans were dismissed, silenced, and forgotten.
The writing is masterful, as always. Hannah’s ability to blend historical context with deeply personal emotion is unmatched. She doesn’t just tell you what happened—she makes you feel it, vividly. Frankie’s friendships, the camaraderie among nurses and soldiers, and the fragile hope they all cling to in the middle of chaos… it’s all written with such care and respect.
The Women is not an easy read, but it is an essential one. It’s a tribute to the strength, courage, and sacrifices of the women who served—and a reminder that their stories matter. I cried, I raged, I sat in silence when it ended, just absorbing it all.
This is historical fiction at its finest. Unforgettable, important, and absolutely devastating in the best way. If you read one book this year, let it be this one.
Also By Kristin Hannah
FIREFLY LANE
In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface, they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end, they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.
So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.
From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness.
Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend. . . .
For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship—jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodread’s Best Historical Fiction Novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for Best Fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018,
The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.
The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.
Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular TV show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and Season Two is currently set to conclude the series on April 27, 2023.
Her new novel, The Women, about a young woman coming of age during the turbulent 1960s in America, who joins the Army Nurse Corps and serves in Vietnam will be published February 6th, 2024.
A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
I could not believe my luck when I walked into a local bookstore and found a signed copy of The Women – you do not understand how rare, signed copies are in South Africa! I now own two copies of this book – and yes one is signed!
Thank you for visiting the blog and reading my review – everyone has raved about this book on social media and this time, I agree with all those brilliant reviews. This was an incredible read. If you haven’t yet – please add this one to your TBR. Until next time…. Happy Reading!
