“There were no women in Vietnam.”

That false refrain runs through THE WOMEN, and is a belief that, even today, far too many people hold. Most people are very familiar with the lack of acknowledgment, encouragement, support, and appreciation soldiers who served in Vietnam received; women who served received the least of all, with the veracity of their services and sacrifices often unknown and unspoken of.

This stunning novel is the latest example of excellence from Kristen Hannah, and it’s emotionally devastating. The book follows Frankie McGrath, a young society girl from California who readily joins the Army Nurse Corps serving in Vietnam. She arrives with the barest of training and insufficient expectations, thrown into a mass causality situation on her very first day. The hellish landscape is only brightened by the friendships that Frankie forms with her fellow nurses–relationships that will be her saving grace and sustenance long after their tours of duty overseas.

There is no shortage of loss and devastation in these pages. Loss of life, certainly, and also loss of ideals and innocence, trust, and self-worth. Frankie’s journey is crippling–from being spat on when she appears in uniform arriving home and the ignorance from a family so ashamed of her service that they lied to everyone about the cause of her absence for two years. I needed to take a break now and then to catch my breath and dry my eyes as I followed Frankie’s descent, stunned every time she fell to a new low after what I thought had to be rock bottom. Her redemption is hardwon, and her story, for all of the trauma and heartbreak, is ultimately lit with strength, courage, and resilience.

THE WOMEN is exceptional and unforgettable. Kristin Hannah just keeps getting better and better.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a free advanced reader’s copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.