PBS Books Readers Club welcomes international best-selling author, Kristin Hannah to discuss her powerful and most recent novel The Women. The episode premieres on March 26th at 8PM ET as a PBS Books Facebook Live event, on the PBS Books YouTube channel, pbsbooks.org, and the PBS app.
In The Women, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a twenty-year-old nursing student, impulsively decides to join the Army Nurse Corp after her brother is shipped out to fight in the Vietnam War. Her life is changed forever as she is thrust into the chaos and destruction of war, where friendships are forged, tested and lost. As she faces the violence and trauma of war, Frankie also struggles with the challenge of returning home to a nation torn apart by political division, feeling just as lost and out of place as the soldiers who fought beside her.
The Women shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War — female nurses who served courageously, risking their lives to care for others in the midst of danger.
In honor of Woman’s History month, our PBS watch-alike is Call the Midwife, a period piece about nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House as they serve the expectant mothers in London’s East End. Watch past seasons now on the PBS app. Season 14 premiers on March 30th on PBS.
About the Author
Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her last book, The Four Winds, was the biggest selling hardcover fiction title of 2021. Her previous novels, The Four Winds, The Great Alone, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane were all named Goodreads Best Historical Fiction and her international blockbuster, The Nightingale, won the coveted People’s Choice Award for best fiction and was a selection of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club in 2023 and named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week. In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller, as did The Four Winds when it was published in February of 2021 as well as becoming #1 on the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstores’ bestseller lists. It was selected as a book club pick by the both the Today Show and the Book Of the Month Club, which named it the best book of 2021. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world in the week it came out. A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.
About the Hosts
Heather-Marie Montilla
Heather-Marie Montilla, a dynamic integrative leader, is an educator and nonprofit manager. She has worked in the nonprofit sector and libraries for over two decades, making a positive impact in arts, cultural, educational, and community-building arenas.
Having joined the PBS Books team as their Library Bureau Chief in Fall 2018, Montilla is now the National Director of PBS Books and has interviewed more than 150 writers. In addition, she is a faculty member at Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University for their Arts and Cultural/Entertainment Management Programs. Having been an Executive Director for 8 years, Heather has a wide range of experience in management, finance, strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. Heather holds a MPA From Columbia University, a MLIS from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s from Duke University. She lives in Chicagoland, and is married with four children, a dog, and a bird.
Lauren Smith
Executive Producer and host of national PBS programming at Detroit Public TV, Lauren develops content for PBS and other distributors of public media for broadcast, streaming, and other digital channels and has executive-produced and/or produced over 60 national broadcast and programs. Her passion is to develop inspiring, entertaining, and educational content alongside the best national and international talent, and to engage important content with communities across the country. Lauren loves to read and has worked to develop and produce PBS Books content for nearly ten years!
Princess Weekes
Princess Weekes is an award winning writer and video essayist who works at breaking down the intersections between race, gender, and pop culture. Formally an Assistant Editor at The Mary Sue, co-host of Netflix’s The Geeked Podcast, and co-host and co-writer on the PBS Digital Series It’s Lit. On weekends works as a bookseller at a local bookstore. When not reading or writing she can be found playing TTRPGs of cuddling with her cat, Lola.
Fred Nahhat
Fred Nahhat is an Emmy Award-winning producer, host, and presenter for Detroit’s PBS station, where he serves as Sr. VP of Production.
A 30-year broadcast veteran, Fred has hosted and produced numerous programs for Public TV – including music specials from Il Volo, Celtic Gold and the New Divas – as well as other series and specials “New Year’s Eve with the DSO”, “The Detroit Dream Cruise,” “The PBS Books Readers Club” and “Get Up, Get Out,” among others.
He is a graduate of Wayne State University and a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter, USA Hockey, and Leadership Detroit.
