Kristin Hannah wrote a story about the women who went to the Vietnam War and served as nurses and sometimes doctors when a doctor wasn’t available. When they returned home, they were not only treated as baby killers much like the men who served when they returned home, but they were also treated like they were not war veterans because they were women and it was a common belief that only men served in the Vietnam War. There was not help from Veterans Affairs for the nurses. They only had each other to share in their experience.
This story, which revolves around Frankie, Barb, and Ethel, also dramatically shows the PTSD and heartbreak that came with serving and watching their friends die whilst they were expected to continue. To carry on. To fight an enemy they couldn’t see. All while their own government continually lied about death tolls and who the actual enemy was.
I won’t lie. I cried several times while reading this. I felt every word. Every sentence. Hannah’s writing brings the sixties and seventies to life and somehow makes it very real as if I was living in that time today. The characters each have depth as they share their trauma and heartbreak. Hannah is so very adept at writing women that feel real. The type of women I want to be friends with.
If you’ve every experienced PTSD, it becomes clear in reading this that Hannah knows how to write about PTSD in a way that makes it palpable. Understandable. A real thing as heavy a burden than anyone should have to carry. Some of her best writing.
Read this book. Read it for it is as relevant to today as it is to the Vietnam War. It tells the struggles that women still face when it comes to living in a man’s world. The book is not preachy, but simply tells the story in such a way that the themes are on every page, welcoming and blunt at the same time.
Five out of five stars. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
Kristin Hannah wrote a story about the women who went to the Vietnam War and served as nurses and sometimes doctors when a doctor wasn’t available. When they returned home, they were not only treated as baby killers much like the men who served when they returned home, but they were also treated like they were not war veterans because they were women and it was a common belief that only men served in the Vietnam War. There was not help from Veterans Affairs for the nurses. They only had each other to share in their experience.
This story, which revolves around Frankie, Barb, and Ethel, also dramatically shows the PTSD and heartbreak that came with serving and watching their friends die whilst they were expected to continue. To carry on. To fight an enemy they couldn’t see. All while their own government continually lied about death tolls and who the actual enemy was.
I won’t lie. I cried several times while reading this. I felt every word. Every sentence. Hannah’s writing brings the sixties and seventies to life and somehow makes it very real as if I was living in that time today. The characters each have depth as they share their trauma and heartbreak. Hannah is so very adept at writing women that feel real. The type of women I want to be friends with.
If you’ve every experienced PTSD, it becomes clear in reading this that Hannah knows how to write about PTSD in a way that makes it palpable. Understandable. A real thing as heavy a burden than anyone should have to carry. Some of her best writing.
Read this book. Read it for it is as relevant to today as it is to the Vietnam War. It tells the struggles that women still face when it comes to living in a man’s world. The book is not preachy, but simply tells the story in such a way that the themes are on every page, welcoming and blunt at the same time.
Five out of five stars. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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