The Women: A Novel

Ethel and Barb take Frankie home. Though uncertain, she decides to go through with her wedding. From a newspaper, she learns Rye married before he left for Vietnam. Frankie understands she was lied to, but still loves him. As the three women make wedding preparations, she begins to bleed and Henry rushes her to the hospital. She loses the pregnancy and learns the baby was a boy. Frankie tries to talk to her mother about Rye, but the latter insists on moving on. Her mother reveals she had a pregnancy loss before she married, and suggests Frankie take some Valium to distract herself.e motherHer  Later, Frankie tells Henry that Rye is alive and that she cannot marry him, but does not reveal Rye’s lie.

Frankie withdraws from everyone, taking her mother’s Valium and working extra shifts at the hospital to forget Rye. Her nightmares return, as do visions of combat during the day. She obtains an official prescription for Valium and becomes reliant on them. On one occasion, Frankie is compromised by them and removed from the OR. Days pass, and she feigns normalcy by sending Ethel and Barb letters but refuses to talk to them on the phone. One day, she spots Rye’s family at a beach. Frankie studies him from afar, convinced he looks unhappy. When his family piles into their car and leaves, she follows them in hers. She watches them enter their house, then drives away when Rye sees her. That night, Frankie’s boss calls about her missed shift; the next day, she is suspended.

Days later, Frankie is on the phone with Barb when her doorbell rings: Rye has come to explain his desire to divorce upon arriving in Vietnam. Frankie is angry but does not stop his kiss.

Frankie and Rye begin an affair. He also begins divorce proceedings, but she is plagued by guilt. She attends Barb’s wedding, and Ethel assures her that she will find someone better than Rye. Frankie returns home to tell Rye that she is ending their affair, but he proposes marriage. She loses her resolve, certain that her life will fall into place now that she can marry him without guilt. She convinces her boss to end her suspension, lying about her substance misuse and PTSD. Upon resuming work, Frankie begins to feel like herself again and looks forward to her wedding. One day, Rye is mentioned at the hospital and she discovers his wife just gave birth. Devastated by yet another lie, she rushes to a bar, drinks, then drives toward a bridge—swerving upon spotting a cyclist.

Frankie awakens in a hospital bed to learn the cyclist survived, and that she is being charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Her father takes her home, and upon gentle questioning, she admits she has suffered since Vietnam and needs help. She tries to join a support group for veterans, but the men reject her because she was not involved in combat. Next, Frankie visits the cyclist, and he chastises her for driving drunk.

At her parents’ house, Frankie takes Valium. She falls into a dream-like state and has visions of Finley. She believes he is calling to her and follows him to the beach, wading into the water. Frankie awakens in an ambulance, and her father explains she will spend the next 36 hours in a psychiatric facility.

Frankie awakens in the rehabilitation center that Henry runs. He explains she is experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the absence of Valium. He then explains she has PTSD, a new and somewhat “controversial” diagnosis. Henry helps Frankie realize she has come to feel shame for her service, partially because others downplayed women’s experiences. She begins individual and group counseling, where she can share her memories of Vietnam; she also journals. Barb visits and Frankie confesses to her affair with Rye. Barb confesses that she, too, experiences nightmares, which surprises Frankie.

As 1974 arrives, Frankie’s recovery continues. She has dealt with her substance misuse and knows Rye never truly loved her. She lost her nursing license, but Henry assures her that she may earn it back once she recovers. That winter, Frankie is discharged from the rehab facility.

That summer, Frankie tells her parents that she needs to move—that she intends to find out who she is and what she wants to do. She sells her cottage and on the day she is set to leave, Barb arrives. Together, they drive north, until Frankie decides where she wants to settle. They arrive near Missoula, Montana.

Frankie buys and renovates a ranch, and after earning a degree in psychology, begins a haven for female veterans of the war. She provides counseling and in return, the women live and work on the ranch. They design their own heroes’ wall with photographs of themselves.

In November 1982, Frankie attends a reunion of the 36^th Evacuation Unit hospital staff to commemorate the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC. Ethel and Barb attend, but the three women see no other nurses. Frankie searches for Finley’s name and finds it. She looks up and discovers her parents are present, as they have come to honor both of their children. Her father finally apologizes for his treatment of her service. After exchanging memories of Finley, Frankie searches for Jamie’s name. However, she bumps into Jamie himself, who survived their last encounter. They catch up and then join other survivors.