“The Women” book review by Andrew Evans
The Pickleball Librarian’s 2024 best fiction book is “The Women” by Kristin Hannah!
The Vietnam War was a tough time for our country. It was especially tough for our veterans. Unlike the previous generation who came home to victory parades after WWII, they often came home to protestors and were often called baby killers. My dad experienced something similar as he enlisted while his own sisters were part of the anti-war movement.
During high school, my history textbook didn’t even give Vietnam a full page. My dad never talked about it until the movie Platoon came out. One of his sisters went with him to see it. She said she could sense his tension during the jungle scenes. The movie helped my dad to open up and deal with the war. I still remember him saying, “The water was too hot to be a refreshing drink, yet too cold to take a shower.”
We know a lot about the men who fought in Vietnam, but we often forget about “The Women.” The book shares stories about the Vietnam War from the perspective of women army nurses. When I was barely into it, I felt the intensity! 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.”
The main character Frankie McGrath often finds herself being told that certain things like marches, events, veteran support groups, and the VA hospitals are “only for Vietnam vets.” In the operating rooms of the army field hospital, Frankie saw more blood, blown-apart limbs, gaping wounds, and death than most veterans! Yet many including her own family did not respect her sacrifice.
It reminded me of the time I dated Sgt. Lucy, who was a medic and two-time Iraq War veteran. When we went to the American Legion, folks assumed I was the veteran and she was the wife. That upset her and rightfully so! “Women can be heroes too.” Our women veterans are heroes!
Frankie, like the veterans I mentioned above, suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that affected many aspects of her life. Frankie didn’t realize what she was going through until a fellow veteran said, “We’re both the walking dead.” The healing began when she finally started talking about how her war experience haunted her. If you or any veteran you know needs help, please have them dial the Veterans Crisis Helpline at 988 and then press 1.
Frankie’s journey consisted of loss, grief, trauma, love, addiction, recovery, and heartache. Once she started dealing with her experience in Vietnam, it became time “to actually go in search of her life.” Someone mentioned how they found it inconceivable for so many bad things to happen to one person. My response is Frankie is a composite of many women who served in Vietnam. Just look at Forrest Gump!
This book also does an amazing job of incorporating historical events and pop culture including books from the time period to help provide a realist feel of the Vietnam War Era. Frankie and the country’s opinion of the war changed from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. The media coverage became darker as the war went on. Frankie attended protest events with Ron Kovic (portrayed in the movie Born On The Fourth Of July), she saw hundreds of veterans throwing their medals at the U.S. Capitol, and even saw a bunch of pilot POWs returning to the states in San Diego.
One of the most touching parts of the book was seeing Frankie attend the dedication of the Vietnam Wall in Washington DC. “Frankie was overwhelmed by the sight of it. Even from here, she could see the endless etchings on the stone. More than fifty-eight thousand names. A generation of men. And eight women. Nurses, all of them. Names of the fallen.”
I still remember the time my Vietnam veteran dad saw the Wall for the first time. He slowly walked while touching parts of it. While growing up, my dad rarely talked about his experience and once expressed guilt about not winning the war.
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial was dedicated over ten years later. “According to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation statement, approximately 10,000 American military women were stationed in Vietnam during the war. Most were nurses in the Army, Air Force, and Navy, but women also served as physicians and medical personnel, and in air traffic control and military intelligence. Civilian women also served in Vietnam as news correspondents and workers for the Red Cross, Donut Dollies, the USO, Special Services, the American Friends Service Committee, Catholic Relief Services, and other humanitarian organizations.”
Some say the Vietnam War is the war we want to forget. However, I’m glad the Vietnam memorials are there, and I’m glad books like “The Women” help remind us of the sacrifices of our service members and veterans.
“The Women” is a momentous book that captures the time and tells the story of Frankie and how the Vietnam War and its aftereffects shaped her life! I highly recommend it.
