The Women: A Novel

A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times!

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women―at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

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.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but 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. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam war, will be released on February 6, 2024.

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.

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.

In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster and was Goodreads 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.

The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. 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.

"Hannah again shines her light on overlooked women in history" ―People Magazine (Book of the Week)

"Hannah is in top form here... Hannah’s real superpower is her ability to hook you along from catastrophe to catastrophe, sometimes peering between your fingers, because you simply cannot give up on her characters. She gathers women into the (Vietnam) experience with moving conviction." ―The New York Times

“The Women is historical fiction at its very best. So moving, so wrenching, and yet, in the end, uplifting. Brava! I loved The Nightingale and The Four Winds, but The Women is my favorite.” ―Nicholas D. Kristof, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of Half the Sky

“One of the greatest storytellers of our time, Kristin Hannah, tackles one of the most cruel and despicable wars of the last century, the Vietnam War. The Women reveals the powerful contributions and horrific sacrifices of the American military nurses who served in a war whose agencies refused to acknowledge that they were even there. Perhaps no words can bring closure to a nation still ashamed of booing our returning heroes, but the heroine, Frances McGrath, stirs a deep, overdue compassion and tears for every single soldier―and especially the forgotten women who sacrificed so much. Never has a novel of war metamorphosed so profoundly into a story of the human heart.” ―Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing

“Stuns with sacrifice; uplifts with heroism . . . an important, long overdue tribute to the brave women nurses who served in Vietnam.” ―Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

"Hannah’s emotionally charged page-turner (after The Four Winds) centers on a young nurse whose life is changed by the Vietnam War. Fans of women’s historicals will enjoy this magnetic wartime story." ―Publishers Weekly

"Many would say that the nurses who helped fight the Vietnam War were forgotten. Believe me, for those of us who were there, these women were never forgotten--and never will be. Kristin Hannah honors them with this novel." --Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn

"Hannah enjoys the authorial reach to educate legions of readers about the significant subjects she dramatizes. In doing so she demonstrates that, just like the women she writes about, she deserves to be recognized." -Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A moving, gripping tale that pays tribute to the under-appreciated skill and courage of combat nurses." --Booklist, starred review

"Hannah tells the story of real but unsung heroes" --Washington Post

"Enough time has passed that most people acknowledge the individual heroism that took place in Vietnam, even though history doesn't look kindly on the war itself," he wrote. "People over there did things that we can ― and should ― be proud of. That's one reason why I'm glad to see a book like 'The Women' doing so well. It's a beautifully written tribute to a group of veterans who deserve more appreciation for the incredible sacrifices they made." --Bill Gates

The story begins in 1965 on Coronado Island in California, where twenty-year-old Frances “Frankie” McGrath lives a sheltered, privileged life. Raised in a conservative, traditional Catholic family, Frankie has always been taught that her role in the world is to be a good wife and mother. Her family’s pride is centered heavily on a “heroes wall” in her father’s study, a tribute to the men in the McGrath family who have served their country in combat. When her beloved older brother, Finley, enlists in the Navy to fight in Vietnam, Frankie is filled with a mixture of pride and dread. However, it is a passing comment from one of Finley’s friends—who tells Frankie that "women can be heroes, too"—that completely alters the trajectory of her life. Desperate to make her father proud and to stay close to her brother, Frankie makes the shocking decision to join the Army Nurse Corps.

Before Frankie even finishes her training, tragedy strikes her family. Finley is killed in action, shattering the McGrath household and leaving her parents consumed by grief. Despite her parents’ horror and disapproval of her enlistment, Frankie honors her commitment and ships out to Vietnam. She arrives in the war-torn country completely unprepared for the grueling, bloody reality that awaits her. Stationed first at the 36th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi, she is thrust into a world of overwhelming heat, deafening noise, and relentless trauma. Initially paralyzed by the gruesome injuries of the soldiers brought in on medical helicopters—known as "dustoffs"—Frankie quickly realizes she must adapt or fail.

In the crucible of the operating room, Frankie sheds her innocence and transforms into a highly skilled, resilient surgical nurse. She learns to triage horrific wounds, assist in life-saving amputations, and, most heartbreakingly, hold the hands of young men as they take their final breaths. Throughout this harrowing experience, her greatest source of strength becomes the profound sisterhood she forms with two other nurses, Barb and Ethel. Coming from vastly different backgrounds, the three women forge an unbreakable bond, relying on each other to survive the emotional and physical toll of the war. They share their fears, their tears, and moments of dark humor that keep them tethered to their humanity.

The intense, high-stakes environment of the war zone also sparks desperate desires for connection and love. Frankie finds herself falling for Dr. Jamie Callahan, a brilliant and charismatic surgeon. Their romance provides a brief respite from the surrounding carnage, but it is deeply complicated by the fact that Jamie is married. When Jamie is eventually transferred, Frankie is left heartbroken but throws herself entirely into her work, eventually volunteering for a transfer to a more dangerous hospital in Pleiku. There, she meets Rye, a handsome and charming helicopter pilot who was a friend of her late brother. Rye offers her a sense of stability and a promise of a future, and Frankie falls deeply in love again. However, the war claims yet another toll when Rye’s helicopter is shot down, and he is presumed dead, leaving Frankie emotionally devastated as her tour of duty comes to an end.

Returning to the United States in the late 1960s, Frankie expects to find a country grateful for her service. Instead, she steps into a deeply divided nation convulsing with anti-war protests. At the airport, she is spat upon and called a baby killer by protesters who do not differentiate between combat soldiers and the medical personnel who tried to save them. The deepest betrayal, however, comes from her own family. When Frankie returns to Coronado, she discovers that her parents, deeply ashamed of her military service, have lied to their wealthy country club friends, claiming she had been studying art in Florence, Italy. Frankie’s father refuses to add her picture to the heroes wall, cementing her feelings of isolation and abandonment.

Desperate to process her trauma and terrifying nightmares, Frankie reaches out to the Veterans Administration for psychological and medical assistance. In one of the most crushing moments of the novel, she is repeatedly turned away by VA officials who dismiss her with the maddening phrase, "There were no women in Vietnam." Erased by her country and rejected by her family, Frankie spirals into a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition that was barely understood at the time. To numb the night terrors, the panic attacks, and the overwhelming grief, she turns to alcohol and prescription pills, desperately trying to maintain the facade of a normal life.

Frankie’s fragile world is upended once again when she discovers that Rye did not die in the crash; he survived for years as a Prisoner of War. Their reunion is initially joyous, offering a glimmer of hope that Frankie might finally get her happily-ever-after. However, Rye betrays her trust, marrying another woman and hiding secrets that shatter Frankie’s remaining sanity. The culmination of this betrayal, combined with a tragic miscarriage and a drunk-driving incident, pushes Frankie to absolute rock bottom. She experiences a total psychological breakdown, realizing that the coping mechanisms she has relied on are going to kill her if she does not seek real help.

When her biological family fails her one final time, her found family steps in. Barb and Ethel rescue Frankie from her downward spiral, proving that the sisterhood forged in the blood and mud of Vietnam is enduring. With their unwavering support, Frankie enters a specialized rehabilitation facility where she finally confronts her demons. She learns to process her grief, forgives herself for the lives she couldn't save, and slowly begins the arduous journey of piecing her life back together.

Finding strength in her recovery, Frankie discovers a new purpose. Recognizing the systemic failure of the government to care for female veterans, she purchases a tranquil property in nature to create a safe haven and retreat for women who served. She dedicates her life to ensuring that no other female veteran has to suffer in silence or be told that their service did not happen. The novel concludes in 1982 with the emotional dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Frankie, Barb, and Ethel stand together at the black granite wall, tracing the names of the men they loved and lost. In this powerful final moment, Frankie finally finds a sense of peace, honoring the quiet, unacknowledged heroism of the women who sacrificed everything for their country.