Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Women

I’m still trying to collect my thoughts here, so bear with me. I also wrote a much better review directly after finishing the book, but my app glitched and it is now gone forever. I’m still not over that nor this book. Nothing I can do to bring back my first take review, but I’m already looking forward to re-reading the book again and again. Anyway, on to the review…

This was such a phenomenal book in so many ways. Mostly because it feels like such an important topic to acknowledge. It’s heartbreaking to think of how the veterans of Vietnam were treated. It’s especially heartbreaking to think that the brave women who served during that war were forgotten and gaslit about their experiences. I can only imagine how isolating that must have felt. Especially in a time where PTSD (and mental health in general) was not as understood. And even though this is a work of fiction, I feel the author took great care in crafting a story that was representative of true experiences. I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into doing a story like this justice. She did an amazing job, in my humble opinion.

I know there is nothing that can be done now to change the many wrongs that have happened in our country’s history, but I hope acknowledging the stories of the heroes that have helped shape the land we call home will help us to do better going forward. They all deserve to have their stories told and heard by the masses. The period described here was such a dark era that left so many to feel abandoned and discarded. I wish we could've respected, recognized, and honored these men and women as they should have been from day one. Hopefully these stories can help us never forget nor make that mistake again. The government is quick to send people into battle on their behalf, but seem to discard them when they return broken from the experience. I hope we all can find ways to help those in need at every level and books like these seem to help spark that conversation.

I will say as far as the story itself goes, it was a lot. Obviously. Many Hannah books have a dark tone and are rather heavy material. Which isn’t always a good time to read but she does well to give bits of hope to hang onto. I will say the many love stories that managed to spring up so often were a bit of reach but hey, war makes people more spontaneous and trauma bonds are real. It wasn’t completely unbelievable. The main character is also young and what may be thought of as “love” at that age (especially in the midst of highly emotional experiences) is not true love, which I believe is to be understood as things progress. There seemed to be a lot that happened in very short spans of time and it was often hard to wrap my head around where I was in the timeline. Like how much time had passed. But again, not completely unrealistic… just a lot. I think reading again will help me wrap my head around all of that better as I have a general idea of the whole picture going in next time. This isn’t a story that has some major happily ever after with a pretty bow on top vibes, however it doesn’t leave you feeling completely destroyed as you may think it could at certain points when reading. All in all, it is a very solid book and one I would recommend and read again (which are not things I tend to do often.)

Thank you to the author, the narrator, the production crew, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this amazing story come to life. Thank you to the men and women (especially!) who have served our country and have shared experiences we may never be able to fully understand. Even when this country seems to be going to crap, it is the people who are willing to sacrifice so much for what they believe in and what is truly the greater good that give me hope. I look forward to learning more about the stories of the women in Vietnam and finding ways I can help where I can going forward.

Content Warnings

annieecusack's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

shelles_shelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A surprise to no one, Kristin Hannah delivers brilliantly. Retelling the quiet story of silenced women in history so loudly is the kind of solidarity that screams "womanhood". This tale was poignant, gut-wrenching, maddening, inspirational, ugly, and beautiful. Even when some parts of the story make you feel so empty, this story is whole.

I haven't touched historical fiction in a long time, admittedly, because my reading focus has been escapism. Life can be so hard as it is. And man did this one put me on my ass. A book hasn't made me cry like this in, well, maybe ever. I can't decide if I have fallen even more in love with Kristin, or if I want to fight her.

Content Warnings