It's no surprise this was such a great read. I only wish I fully understood how depressing it would be. Obviously a book about the Vietnam War and aftermath wasn't going to be light, but I wasn't prepared for how low Frankie would fall. The ending is uplifting, but it gets darker and darker until about 90% in. Thankfully that last 10% shows healing that ends the book on a good note.

My FIL is a Vietnam vet, and he told us about how veterans weren't welcomed home and that it's important to thank a vet and welcome them home. I'm not very familiar with the Vietnam War, but I did watch a lot of MASH reruns when I was growing up so I used those as I pictured the first half of the book. It didn't hit me until the book mentions that the Vietnam vets were struggling post-war, the women in particular since everyone denied that women were even in Vietnam, and yet MASH was a hit show about how horrible the Korean War was and it featured many women. What a jarring reality for the vets to be treated so poorly while MASH was so popular. I'm so glad Hannah took her time writing this book, and I'm glad she's shining a light on a time period in US history that's often hidden shamefully away.