The Women

Behind the Book From Kristin

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. Later, I saw how our veterans were treated when they came home and it was a shameful time in America. Our government sent hundreds of thousands of young men to war, many with too little training, and the world forgot them—or worse, shunned them—when they came home.

As is true with too many historical stories, no one ever talks 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. The bravery, patriotism, and struggle of The Women needs to be recognized and honored. I am so honored to have spoken to so many of these women and am proud to illuminate their service.