Brown Bag

Mary Jane Hunt will lead a discussion of Kristin Hannah's bestselling novel The Women. Participants are encouraged (but not required) to read the book in advance. Ask for a copy at the library’s information desk.

From Booklist:

Frankie McGrath is just 20 when she enlists in the army to go to Vietnam as a nurse in 1965, planning to follow in the footsteps of her older brother, Finley. Frankie's parents are dismayed by her decision, even more so once they get the horrible news that Finley has been killed in action. Frankie deploys to Vietnam and is quickly overwhelmed by the  horrors of war, but with the  help of two new friends, Barb and Ethel, and a handsome doctor, Jamie, she adjusts to the rigors of nursing in a war zone. Her attraction to Jamie is stymied by complications, then she finds love with her brother's best friend, a charming pilot named Rye. When Frankie's service comes to an end, she is distressed when she returns to the  States to find that Vietnam vets are not lauded as heroes and that many vets don't acknowledge the  service of military women . As she grapples with PTSD and finds her place in antiwar protests, Frankie is dealt a terrible blow. Hannah (The  Four Winds, 2021) continues her winning streak of compelling historical novels, capturing the tumultuous atmosphere of the 1960s and '70s in a moving, gripping tale that pays tribute to the under-appreciated skill and courage of combat nurses.