Excited to Share The Women with You
Hello booklovers! Wow. There is so much to say, so much going on in my usually quiet life. After three years of work, I am finally gearing up for the publication of my new book, The Women, coming in February! Woo hoo!! That seems like a long way off, doesn’t it? But these days, my life seems to move at about a mile a minute, so I know it will come up fast. I’m thrilled to give you all a first peek into the book and why I wrote it, and why I’m so excited to share it with my readers. As many of you know, I come out with a new book every three years, and I take that much time for a few reasons — some real world (I
want to travel and be with friends and family and really settle into an idea) and some practical (I need an idea that feels absolutely right to me, one I’m willing, and excited, to spend years of my life exploring, researching, and refining). Even with all of that going on, this book is something special for me. Why? Because I pitched this book idea in 1997 as the follow-up to my first hardcover novel. My brilliant editor at that time knew that I wasn’t ready to tackle such a big subject: women in the Vietnam War. She was right, and honestly it took me a lot of living and a lot of writing to be ready to take on this idea that has been important to me for more than twenty years.
Jenna Bush Hager shared the first excerpt of The Women and an interview that I did with Today.com a while ago. (Can you believe it? Jenna!!!) She said (and I am sort of blushing here, but it's just too nice not to share), “Drumroll please. Kristin Hannah is one of our favorite authors and a beloved member of the RWJ (Read with Jenna) family.”
There has been a lovely outpouring of praise for The Women from booksellers who read early copies of the book. You can see some of their comments here.
The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women.
From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels — at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.
“Women can be heroes, too.”
When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism and courage under fire define a generation.
I was a child when the Vietnam War started and a thirteen-year-old when it ended. In my memory, the war is the dominant political and social event of my early life. Many of my friends’ fathers went off to war. I remember keenly the upheaval and anger and division in the world at the time. A time, honestly, that reflects our world today, in many ways. An era of deep political and social divides, of unrest and protests and anger, but also of hope that change could happen. As a girl, I watched it all alongside my parents, saw it in protests on the streets, and in black and white images on the nightly news. As is true with too many historical stories, no one ever talked about the women who served in the war. Most were
nurses, but not all. When I began to collect their stories, hear about their wartime experiences and their rejection and problems upon coming home to a changed and deeply divided America, I knew that this story — like the one about World War II I found that became The Nightingale — needed to be told. I am so honored to have spoken to so many of these women and am proud to illuminate their service.
"What About When You're Not Writing?"
This is a question that I get asked a lot, so here it goes:
Like all of you, I have a lot of things going on that have nothing to do with work or writing, and I love to share some personal photos and bits and pieces with you all. For the first time, my husband and I are adding on to our house. This was a crazy decision, and of course it is going on much longer than we thought it would, and now we just hope to have our patio completed before the summer ends. Want to take a bet on this? This is how it looks now. (It's just a patio. How can there be so many holes and pits and piles??? I'll update when it's done — hopefully).
And what do I do when I finish one book and don't have an idea for another one? I plant flowers!!!
Some book recommendations, old and new for fun summer reading: Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
A Dangerous Education by Megan Chance
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane And here is what I have enjoyed watching: "The Bear"
"Silo"
"Rectify"
"The Morning Show"
"The Last of Us"
"Succession"
"Ted Lasso"
"Call My Agent"
Toasting you from the Pacific Northwest sunshine! I will be back to you in October with a contest just for my newsletter readers! Oh, and yes, because I'd love to meet you, I will be touring in February. Those dates will be announced later in the year. In the meantime, you can keep up with me on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news! Be sure and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, BookBub and Amazon. And don't forget to put The Women on your "want to read" list on Goodreads. More to come. Have a great rest of the summer!
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