Kristin Hannah – The Source 4 Books

At one time the US was filled with pride and unwavering belief in the government. When asked what would you do for your country, boys signed up to be part of the military with pride – theirs, their families, and the country’s. Then came that awful day in November when President Kennedy was shot.

Fear of communism spreading in Asia lead the US to begin its offensive in Vietnam, a place few knew where to find on a map. In the early days of the conflict Frances Grace (Frankie) McGrath attends her brother Fin’s going away party that his parents were holding before he shipped out. A recent graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, Fin and his buddy Rye were being honored by Connor McGrath, a father that took military honor to heart, and posted pictures of them on his “heroes” wall in his study. Frankie, a newly graduated nurse, signs up with the Army Medical Corp to be near her brother, but before she leaves, the family learns that Fin is killed in action.

From her first day “in country” we see Frankie grow into a new person. The horrors she and her fellow nurses (and best friends) Ethel and Barb live through are as real and haunting as foot soldiers and pilots experienced. We see how Frankie opens herself up to being in the world. Throughout her time there she struggles with her belief in who she is, what she is able to be, and becomes a top-rated surgical nurse, a great friend, and more.

When finally returning after 2 tours in Vietnam, Frankie is spit upon and called a baby killer by strangers in the streets. She realizes her parents not only will not put her picture on the wall of heroes, but that they told their friends she had been studying abroad in Florence.

Women who served in Vietnam had an especially difficult time getting support when they returned; they were being told there were no women in Vietnam, or that they didn’t see actual combat. When reaching out for help, the VA shunned these women. When the men were starting to get help, there was still no where for these women to turn. The betrayal of the country, as well as the personal betrayals Frankie faced, add salt to the wound. Frankie finds help from the most surprising places.

A truly important story to tell, Kristin Hannah acknowledges that this took her decades to complete. She has done well by the women of Vietnam, being true to the horrors that impacted their lives both while they served, and for the decades since.

Could this be a metaphor for the country? We went to Vietnam not knowing what we were supposed to do or who we were, and came back knowing less, only to struggle with what reality had dealt us. But in the end, battered and worn, we stand face to face again with who our true self is? Or could the relationships that Frankie have mirror the country? She was lied to, but wanted to believe so desperately. She struggled against what it meant about who she was. Did the country and Frankie keep themselves believing past the time they should have? Did the pain of betrayal bring the country to the brink? All are parallels I see clearly here. Ultimately, when the country faces itself years later, wiser about what happened, did we find our true selves again? Did Frankie? The question is left open.

When you discover a book that is well written, engaging and thought provoking, you tend to take note of the author. As with many, I read Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and was transported by her language and compelled to finish by her plot development. I read Winter Garden next, and while not as page turning, just as compelling a story. I remember feeling the cold as she spoke of the garden. Thus, when I picked up Summer Island, I was expecting the same level of engagement and complexity. This was definitely an early book of Ms. Hannah’s. The story’s central character was self-centered, egotistical and bitter person. Under the guise of selflessness, she agrees to help her mother, who abandoned her when in high school. In the process of gathering dirt on her mother for an expose, Ruby re-discovers who she is as she reconnects to her past. Forced to see the world differently from a teen-aged view for the first time, she is faced with the facts that life is way more complicated than she wanted to believe. The ease with how the information is provided, and the acceptance that it is given, is in the span of hours, not even days. And the re-connection of Ruby to her high school sweetheart is again too much to fast. Forgiveness of herself had been withheld for 11 years, but was found in his eyes? When I read any more of Ms. Hannah’s books, I will stay with more recent ones, where her storytelling has matured and grown.

Another author I found was Geraldine Brooks. A Year of Wonder, a surprisingly non-morbid story of the plague, was a book I handed back to my mother when she handed it to me, thinking this was a title from her book group that only read terrible, horrible, emotionally scarring stories. She handed it back and said to read it. She was right. The story of humans connecting to each other, and themselves, in order to survive, or at least not harm others, was inspiring. The place where this ends (no spoilers here) is the most uplifting and hopeful. I wanted more of Ms Brook’s work.

I found People of the Book. I was again captivated. The story of returning to your history while striking on your own to excavate the past in the pages that are left are fascinating to me. The Haggadah, as story of a history that you are commanded not to forget, leading to the finding of so many other histories that tie us together, was the perfect vehicle for this exodus from ourselves.

Then I started to read another by Ms. Brook – March. While I appreciate her willingness to explore new ideas, I could not have my own vision of Marme (from Little Women) be so radically changed. That book didn’t get finished, and I am currently taking a break from Ms. Brooks’ books.

Finding a good author that can take on different stories, themes and eras can be difficult, but there are many out there. Once you find one, keep the name close when you need a new read. They usually don’t disappoint.

book lot — Photo by Abene Sebei on Pexels.com

Tag: Kristin Hannah

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Clinging to Authors