Memaw Reads

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Ebook

Historical Setting: Vietnam War—1960s-1970s

The Women is a deeply moving and harrowing story about the women who served in the Vietnam War. These women made tremendous sacrifices to serve their country, only to return home and face a lack of recognition, disrespect, and even shame for having served. Through Frankie McGrath’s journey, I felt the fear, heartbreak, pain, frustration, and anger that followed her from Vietnam and into the years after she returned home.

The story follows Frankie over roughly twenty years, taking us through the devastating losses she experiences, her battle with addiction, and her anger toward the people and country that betrayed and disrespected her. What hurt the most was seeing how she and so many other veterans were made to feel that their service was something to be embarrassed about rather than something to be honored.

Learning about the Vietnam War and how these heroes—both men and women—were treated when they came home was especially personal for me because my dad served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. This book affected me so deeply it took me several days to recover from it.

Kristin Hannah did an incredible job bringing the character and the war zone to life. As always, her research and storytelling are exceptional, but this one felt different to me. In my opinion, The Women is one fo her best books and my favorite of hers. It will likely remain one of my all-time favorite reads.