Book Review: The Women by Kristin Hannah
I just finished reading The Women by Kristin Hannah and I was blown away by both the level of detail and the accuracy of her portrayals of PTSD, especially given this is a work of historical fiction. Let’s break this book down (with some spoilers!):
The Women stars Frankie, a young idealistic woman (barely 20 when she starts her journey) who signs up to go to Vietnam in the early years of the war as an army nurse. The first half of the book chronicles her experiences there - graphic injuries to soldiers she must attend to, losing friends, figuring out who she is outside of her cookie-cutter world in California. She develops strong female friendships with women who empower her and later support her in her struggles in the years that follow. Her return to the States is where her PTSD becomes obvious, ranging from an exaggerated startle response (thinking 4th of July fireworks are a mortar attack), anger and irritability with her family, a sense of shame that there is something wrong with her, nightmares, and flashbacks. Over the course of the second half of the book, she develops an addiction to pills and alcohol as a way to cope with these symptoms, ends up in a mental health facility, tries to re-establish a sense of normalcy, falls in and out of love, and then finally finds purpose through helping other female veterans.
As a trauma therapist, the depiction of PTSD was really what stood out to me. Not only were her symptoms accurately portrayed, but she also described how her family’s lack of pride in her deployment and the country’s attitude toward veterans when she returned (she was spit on, called a “baby killer,” and denied help at the VA because “women didn’t serve in Vietnam”) increased her sense that something was wrong with her for struggling so much after her wartime experiences. For many of my clients, the response of people around them after experiencing a trauma can be a make-or-break experience. Being believed, supported, and loved despite the horrific experience can sometimes mitigate the worst of the PTSD symptoms; feeling shamed, dismissed, or blamed for the event exacerbates them. Her spiral into addiction, especially as she struggles to open up to friends and family about what she is struggling with, is common in the veteran community, as well as with others who have experienced trauma. While addiction may not have a “cure,” one of the biggest indicators of long-term recovery is finding a new sense of purpose, which she does by the end of the book. This also helps her cultivate stronger relationships with her friends and family, who come to better understand what she has been dealing with for years after the war.
Final review: 5 stars - easily!
