For our September book club pick, we dove into The Women by Kristin Hannah. This week, we gathered around to discuss it, and words like “harrowing,” “emotional,” and “challenging” echoed around the table. I shared with the group my side passion for blogging—a way to unwind and clear my head—and told them I’d already written a review of the book, though I held off posting it until after our discussion.

It was a spirited conversation, to say the least! We pushed each other on our feelings, diving deep into the characters and themes, but one thing we all agreed on was how incomprehensible this story felt. The sheer weight of what the main character went through was beyond anything we could truly grasp. There were a few disagreements though, especially when it came to Frankie’s love life—always a point of debate!

 

One colleague even suggested I start pairing my book reviews with wine reviews (genius, right?), but honestly? This book needs something stronger—wine wouldn’t stand a chance against the trauma woven into these pages. Maybe whiskey… neat. No-one disagreed!

So, read on for my thoughts on The Women. Grab your drink of choice—trust me, you’ll need it!

The Women by Kristin Hannah is a novel that completely shattered me. There hasn’t been a book that brought me to the brink of literal, chest-heaving sobs since The Kite Runner, but this one? It wrecked me—and not just once, but again and again, with each turn of the page.

I can’t even begin to fathom what it means to be a combat nurse in a war zone. How do you bear the weight of that responsibility, that constant exposure to chaos, pain, and loss? The world Kristin Hannah brings to life is one I can hardly wrap my mind around. It’s not something I ever want to comprehend fully because, frankly, it’s an expectation of life that feels too heavy to carry. And yet, that’s what so many women did, time and time again—without hesitation, without acknowledgment. 

The story takes us on a 20-year journey with Frankie McGrath, a young woman who enlists as a combat nurse during the Vietnam War. We follow her through two distinct phases of her life: the chaotic, life-saving work in the war zone, and the harrowing aftermath upon her return. 

Frankie’s journey is devastatingly real. Hannah portrays her struggles with addiction, loss, and the anger that builds from the disrespect and dismissal she faces with such raw intensity that you can feel every emotion radiating from the pages. Each blow to her spirit feels like one to your own, and by the end, you’re left feeling as if you’ve lived her pain with her.

What struck me hardest was the way the novel highlights the erasure of women’s contributions to war. Frankie is a hero, but in a world that refuses to recognize her as one, she’s left to navigate a lonely, silent battle at home. This novel isn’t just about war—it’s about growth, maturity, survival, trauma, and the crushing burden of being unseen in a world that prefers its heroes to look a certain way.

Hannah doesn’t pull any punches, and The Women is all the better for it. It’s a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching story, but also a vital reminder of the untold stories of women whose bravery and sacrifice deserve to be honored.

This book also belongs in my Thursday Thoughts