Despite the profound accolades I was seeing about Kristin Hannah’s latest book, The Women, part of me was hesitant to read it for two reasons. One, as a nurse, I was concerned the subject matter covering nurses who served in the Vietnam War might trigger me. While I have never served in a war, I have done frontline nursing for many years in a level-one trauma hospital. I have seen and cared for my share of patients impacted by horrible situations. I entered nursing during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, which like COVID-19, was wrought with uncertainty, fear, and ostracizing.
Second, I have no tolerance for writers who try to write about a certain population and miss the mark because they have not lived the experience of those they are writing about. Could Hannah capture what it is really like to be a nurse? Could she serve and pay tribute to the nurses who practiced in the Vietnam War?
I downloaded the audiobook and after a few weeks, I decided to listen to it. I’m glad I did. This is probably one of the best books I have ever read.
Frances “Frankie” McGrath, the story’s protagonist, is a young woman from a privileged California family. She grew up surfing, spending time with her brother and her parents who belonged to the local country club. Her father, Connor McGrath, had long admired the men who served in wars and proudly displayed a hero's wall of pictures of the family who had served. Wanting to please their father and serve their country, Fiona’s brother, Finley, and Fiona enlisted in the armed services. Finley paid the ultimate sacrifice which left an indelible mark on the family.
While Finley’s service was revered by Connor, Fiona’s was not. Like many women of her time, she was expected to get married, have children, and support her husband. Her choice to enroll in the army as a newly graduated nurse was not only admonished by her parents, it left a veil of shame.
The novel is packed with tension. The tension between Fiona and her family; the anxious, high-pressure stakes that come when a clinic is relentlessly inundated with trauma victims, as well as angst and turmoil within the characters themselves. The way Hannah expertly crafted the story, weaving all of these situations, left me in awe and satisfied knowing the characters' motives, feelings, and weaknesses.
Was my fear of being triggered by this book valid? Yes, in a way. Reading about the first-hand accounts of intense trauma and the unrelenting, uncontrollable rate at which the soldiers arrived at the medical camps, brought up memories for me. The pace and the descriptions were detailed so that they didn’t sugarcoat the events, but they were balanced with treasured moments such as the unbreakable bonds formed and the immense joy and rebirth that can come from respite experiences. As a reader, this aspect rendered the experience more palatable.
Did Hannah chronicle the nurses and other service persons who served in the Vietnam War in a way that honored them? Absolutely. It was evident that the author did her homework to pay homage to the sacrifices, as well as detail the devastating impacts of war long after it was over. Hannah shares her personal story in the acknowledgements of how the Vietnam War impacted her at an early age as well as on podcasts who have interviewed her. This was not a project she took on lightly and it was evident. Writing about this historic moment in time took emotional fortitude. I especially appreciated her detailed acknowledgment of the nurses and other Veterans who helped her create the book. I was also touched when Hannah described how the actions of nurses and other healthcare professionals during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired her to write the novel that had long simmered in her.
Hannah’s gratitude and tribute to those who stepped up to serve others was genuinely heartfelt. This comes at a time when we need to collectively heal from so much trauma and tension that is part of our communal past and present.
Second, I have no tolerance for writers who try to write about a certain population and miss the mark because they have not lived the experience of those they are writing about. Could Hannah capture what it is really like to be a nurse? Could she serve and pay tribute to the nurses who practiced in the Vietnam War?
I downloaded the audiobook and after a few weeks, I decided to listen to it. I’m glad I did. This is probably one of the best books I have ever read.
Frances “Frankie” McGrath, the story’s protagonist, is a young woman from a privileged California family. She grew up surfing, spending time with her brother and her parents who belonged to the local country club. Her father, Connor McGrath, had long admired the men who served in wars and proudly displayed a hero's wall of pictures of the family who had served. Wanting to please their father and serve their country, Fiona’s brother, Finley, and Fiona enlisted in the armed services. Finley paid the ultimate sacrifice which left an indelible mark on the family.
While Finley’s service was revered by Connor, Fiona’s was not. Like many women of her time, she was expected to get married, have children, and support her husband. Her choice to enroll in the army as a newly graduated nurse was not only admonished by her parents, it left a veil of shame.
The novel is packed with tension. The tension between Fiona and her family; the anxious, high-pressure stakes that come when a clinic is relentlessly inundated with trauma victims, as well as angst and turmoil within the characters themselves. The way Hannah expertly crafted the story, weaving all of these situations, left me in awe and satisfied knowing the characters' motives, feelings, and weaknesses.
Was my fear of being triggered by this book valid? Yes, in a way. Reading about the first-hand accounts of intense trauma and the unrelenting, uncontrollable rate at which the soldiers arrived at the medical camps, brought up memories for me. The pace and the descriptions were detailed so that they didn’t sugarcoat the events, but they were balanced with treasured moments such as the unbreakable bonds formed and the immense joy and rebirth that can come from respite experiences. As a reader, this aspect rendered the experience more palatable.
Did Hannah chronicle the nurses and other service persons who served in the Vietnam War in a way that honored them? Absolutely. It was evident that the author did her homework to pay homage to the sacrifices, as well as detail the devastating impacts of war long after it was over. Hannah shares her personal story in the acknowledgements of how the Vietnam War impacted her at an early age as well as on podcasts who have interviewed her. This was not a project she took on lightly and it was evident. Writing about this historic moment in time took emotional fortitude. I especially appreciated her detailed acknowledgment of the nurses and other Veterans who helped her create the book. I was also touched when Hannah described how the actions of nurses and other healthcare professionals during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired her to write the novel that had long simmered in her.
Hannah’s gratitude and tribute to those who stepped up to serve others was genuinely heartfelt. This comes at a time when we need to collectively heal from so much trauma and tension that is part of our communal past and present.
Pick up a copy of The Women at your local bookstore or order a copy now: https://amzn.to/4d0HXDH
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