The Women: A Novel

The Women by Kristin Hannah follows Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a young nurse who serves during the American conflict in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Raised in privilege, 20-year-old Frankie is eager to find purpose and quickly grows from a naïve woman to a skilled Operating Room (OR) nurse. However, the horrors of war make acclimation to civilian life challenging. Through Frankie, Hannah hopes to elucidate the lesser-known women of the Vietnam War.

Kristin Hannah is a former attorney and author of 20 novels, which tend to focus on women in American society. Hannah’s novels have appeared on several best-seller lists—including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Publisher’s Weekly. The Nightingale (2015) was named the best book of 2015 by Amazon, The Wall Street Journal, and Buzzfeed, among others. A television adaptation was made of Hannah’s Firefly Lane (published in 2008; premiered in 2021), and The Nightingale and The Great Alone (published in 2018) have been considered for film adaptations.

This guide refers to the 2024 hardcover edition by St. Martin’s Press.

Content Warning: This guide references the source text’s depiction of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pregnancy loss, child loss, alcohol and substance misuse, and attempted death by suicide.