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Yet again, Kristin Hannah has ripped my heart out of my chest and jumped all over it. And yet again, I’m just fine with that.
Frankie McGrath volunteers to go to Vietnam as a nurse, in the hope that she’ll be put up on her fathers “Hero’s Wall”. She arrives a naive idealist, and leaves emotionally scarred with no hope of support when she gets home.
In Vietnam, Frankie meets her best friends, who will always be there for her - two equally amazing women. They help her through PTSD, the end of relationships and substance abuse. The three women join the fight for recognition of Vietnam vets - where they are repeatedly told that they couldn’t have been there.
This book is in two parts: Vietnam and its aftermath, and honestly, both halves are equally harrowing.
This is such a powerful story. A story wanting recognition for the female nurses in Vietnam. It certainly puts their experiences out there for everyone to see.
The Women will be a book that I’ll be forcing into friends hands with the promise that they’ll love it, but they’ll be traumatised (I believe I made similar warnings to friends after I read The Nightingale).
Frankie McGrath volunteers to go to Vietnam as a nurse, in the hope that she’ll be put up on her fathers “Hero’s Wall”. She arrives a naive idealist, and leaves emotionally scarred with no hope of support when she gets home.
In Vietnam, Frankie meets her best friends, who will always be there for her - two equally amazing women. They help her through PTSD, the end of relationships and substance abuse. The three women join the fight for recognition of Vietnam vets - where they are repeatedly told that they couldn’t have been there.
This book is in two parts: Vietnam and its aftermath, and honestly, both halves are equally harrowing.
This is such a powerful story. A story wanting recognition for the female nurses in Vietnam. It certainly puts their experiences out there for everyone to see.
The Women will be a book that I’ll be forcing into friends hands with the promise that they’ll love it, but they’ll be traumatised (I believe I made similar warnings to friends after I read The Nightingale).
Rachel (48 KP) rated Tortured Dreams (Dreams & Reality Series #1) in Books
May 27, 2017
Managed 17%
*Spoiler Alert*
It's really uncommon for me to start a book and just give up on it. I always endeavor to finish everything but this time I just couldn't!
I found everything about this story excruciating. The writing is all over the place, pretty much 0 description of anything. None of the characters were sympathetic in any way, I really could not have cared less about the lead character. Dialogue is stilted, not natural in any way and the actions of people were as natural as Dolly the cloned sheep.
Even though I only read 17% of the story certain thoughts, and even whole sentences, had already been repeated.
The main character is a sociopath, something that is hammered at over and over again, yet the author presents her in a totally unrealistic way.
"She couldn't have PTSD because she had no feelings for others". That is utterly wrong. PTSD has nothing to do with empathy or feelings for others - the clue is in the name.
I have a friend who is diagnosed with sociopathic personality disorder and it is a fallacy that sociopath's have no apparentlysympathy nor empathy for anyone. The way they process it is just different. They can be very dampened down, yes, but they exist!
Apparently another character - who is a psychopath - managed to somehow beat all of the psychological testing and is part of the FBI! This character apparently secretly gives the sociopathic character money to live on. Why would a fully blown psychopath do that? There is nothing in it for him and it wouldn't even feed his narcissism as it's not a public spectacle.
Now our 'sociopath' character somehow manages to recognise serial killers/rapists from across crowded bars, they are magically drawn only to her, so she let's them follow her home and she kills them. Isn't that convenient?! Oh - she also has a serial killer stalker who writes her letters detailing all 200 of his murders.......
Then homeland security turn up - they somehow know all about her and her magical murdering skills - and need her to help in a case that involves mediaeval torture. Luckily she owns an extremely rare book that answers their most burning question's so she is asked to join a taskforce. Which just happens to be made up entirely of emotionally and psychologically damaged men.
Because that is what every law service desperately wants.
I could go on but I'm just getting annoyed again as I write about it! Honestly, save your time and money and get something more realistic. A comic book of Tom and Jerry perhaps
It's really uncommon for me to start a book and just give up on it. I always endeavor to finish everything but this time I just couldn't!
I found everything about this story excruciating. The writing is all over the place, pretty much 0 description of anything. None of the characters were sympathetic in any way, I really could not have cared less about the lead character. Dialogue is stilted, not natural in any way and the actions of people were as natural as Dolly the cloned sheep.
Even though I only read 17% of the story certain thoughts, and even whole sentences, had already been repeated.
The main character is a sociopath, something that is hammered at over and over again, yet the author presents her in a totally unrealistic way.
"She couldn't have PTSD because she had no feelings for others". That is utterly wrong. PTSD has nothing to do with empathy or feelings for others - the clue is in the name.
I have a friend who is diagnosed with sociopathic personality disorder and it is a fallacy that sociopath's have no apparentlysympathy nor empathy for anyone. The way they process it is just different. They can be very dampened down, yes, but they exist!
Apparently another character - who is a psychopath - managed to somehow beat all of the psychological testing and is part of the FBI! This character apparently secretly gives the sociopathic character money to live on. Why would a fully blown psychopath do that? There is nothing in it for him and it wouldn't even feed his narcissism as it's not a public spectacle.
Now our 'sociopath' character somehow manages to recognise serial killers/rapists from across crowded bars, they are magically drawn only to her, so she let's them follow her home and she kills them. Isn't that convenient?! Oh - she also has a serial killer stalker who writes her letters detailing all 200 of his murders.......
Then homeland security turn up - they somehow know all about her and her magical murdering skills - and need her to help in a case that involves mediaeval torture. Luckily she owns an extremely rare book that answers their most burning question's so she is asked to join a taskforce. Which just happens to be made up entirely of emotionally and psychologically damaged men.
Because that is what every law service desperately wants.
I could go on but I'm just getting annoyed again as I write about it! Honestly, save your time and money and get something more realistic. A comic book of Tom and Jerry perhaps
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated Indivisible in Books
Feb 27, 2019
As a former military brat, I love to read anything about the military. As a long time fan of Travis Thrasher's this book was a double bonus for me. I loved every second of this 5 star worthy novelization of true events.
PTSD is a very real, very scary thing for many folks. This story is about that. I felt every emotion of Heather and Darren as if it was my own. Every pain filled moment, every tear filled scene was my own. That is powerful when a novelization can do that to me. The beautiful story of Heather and Darren become a part of me and I won't soon forget them.
If you are looking to read a book that will fill you with hope, understanding, mercy and faith, then grab this book now. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I imagine it will be just as powerful as this book is. Five stars just doesn't seem like enough praises for this. Hats off to Travis Trasher for creating a beautiful, emotion filled novelization of Darren and Heather's story.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under not obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
PTSD is a very real, very scary thing for many folks. This story is about that. I felt every emotion of Heather and Darren as if it was my own. Every pain filled moment, every tear filled scene was my own. That is powerful when a novelization can do that to me. The beautiful story of Heather and Darren become a part of me and I won't soon forget them.
If you are looking to read a book that will fill you with hope, understanding, mercy and faith, then grab this book now. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I imagine it will be just as powerful as this book is. Five stars just doesn't seem like enough praises for this. Hats off to Travis Trasher for creating a beautiful, emotion filled novelization of Darren and Heather's story.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under not obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
ClareR (5721 KP) rated The Great Alone in Books
Feb 6, 2018
This was my second Kristin Hannah book, and it is set in very different circumstances to the last one (the last one was The Nightingale, set during World War 2). This is set during the 1970s in Alaska, in the back of beyond.
This is a story of survival: Leni and her mother survive the violence of Leni's Vietnam War vet father (who is suffering from PTSD after being held as a prisoner by the enemy). Cora, Leni's mother, will not leave him, saying that she loves him and needs him, and repeatedly pays the price. Leni loves Alaska and her boyfriend Matthew, but tragic circumstances take her away from both for a number of years. Many years later, under different circumstances, she is able to return.
I think I really like Kristin Hannah books. The way she describes the surroundings in Alaska: the wildness, the beauty, the unpredictability. I've read a couple of books recently set in the cold, snowy arctic circle, and this only made me want to actually see it myself even more!
I know I'm only two books in to my Kristin Hannah experience, but I can't say as there is anything about either of them that I didn't like. I'll be hunting down more!
This is a story of survival: Leni and her mother survive the violence of Leni's Vietnam War vet father (who is suffering from PTSD after being held as a prisoner by the enemy). Cora, Leni's mother, will not leave him, saying that she loves him and needs him, and repeatedly pays the price. Leni loves Alaska and her boyfriend Matthew, but tragic circumstances take her away from both for a number of years. Many years later, under different circumstances, she is able to return.
I think I really like Kristin Hannah books. The way she describes the surroundings in Alaska: the wildness, the beauty, the unpredictability. I've read a couple of books recently set in the cold, snowy arctic circle, and this only made me want to actually see it myself even more!
I know I'm only two books in to my Kristin Hannah experience, but I can't say as there is anything about either of them that I didn't like. I'll be hunting down more!
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