The Women
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Reviewed by L. Bennett
On a long road trip recently I listened to this book written by Kristin Hannah and narrated by Julia Whelan. It is a fictional account of women who served with the US Army as nurses in Viet Nam. Told from the perspective of a recently graduated nurse, Frankie McGrath, the book explores her experiences at the bloody edge of battles and her transformation from an "I can't do that" person to the take-charge trauma nurse that doctors trusted to finish their surgeries. Through her eyes the reader also encounters the American view that no women served in Viet Nam and the resulting battles Frankie fights to gain help, recognition, and perhaps acceptance.
The book was very well written, carrying the reader into the hospital tents, bloody ground, and occasional bright spots of fun. As a person who lost several friends to that war, the evocative story was sometimes difficult to hear, but in the end it was a very good read.
