Chapter Twenty-Two: Breaking Point and Rescue

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

After being fired for performing an unauthorized tracheotomy, Frankie returns to her parents’ home in the early morning, still in her blood‑stained uniform. Her father berates her for embarrassing the family at Becky’s party, and her mother asks if she is on drugs. In a rage, Frankie accuses her father of lying about her service in Florence and blames him for her brother Finley’s death in Vietnam. Her father orders her out of the house. Frankie grabs a photograph of Finley and leaves.

Driving recklessly, she nearly hits a dog and crashes her VW Bug into a streetlamp. Shaken, she abandons the car and makes her way to the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic. There, Dr. Durfee dismisses her, saying the VA is only for veterans—and that there were no women in Vietnam. Devastated, Frankie calls her friend Barb collect. Barb and Ethel immediately drive from Virginia to California, find Frankie at a motel on Crystal Pier, and convince her to move to Ethel’s family farm near Charlottesville. The chapter closes with the three women pledging to move forward together.

Key Events

Frankie arrives home at 4:00 a.m. still wearing her blood‑stained nurse uniform.
Her father confronts her about the scene at Becky’s party and her public mention of Vietnam.
Frankie violently destroys the “heroes’ wall” in her father’s office.
Her father tells her to get out and never come back.
Frankie crashes her VW Bug while driving drunk and distraught.
She seeks help at the VA but is turned away by Dr. Durfee, who refuses to believe she is a veteran.
Frankie calls Barb collect; Barb and Ethel fly out and rescue her from the motel.
The three friends travel to Ethel’s farm to start over.

Character Development

Frankie: Reaches her lowest point since returning from Vietnam—unemployed, homeless, drinking heavily, and emotionally volatile. Her rage at her father reveals deep‑seated grief for Finley and anger at the family’s denial of her service. The VA’s rejection compounds her sense of worthlessness, but her willingness to call for help and accept her friends’ plan marks a tentative first step toward healing.
Connor McGrath: Remains fixated on reputation and control. His refusal to see Frankie’s service as heroic and his use of Finley’s memory as a weapon show his inability to confront the war’s cost.
Barb and Ethel: Demonstrate unwavering loyalty. Their immediate, no‑questions‑asked response—flying across the country, taking charge—offers Frankie the first real support she has received since coming home. Their assertiveness contrasts with the helplessness Frankie feels.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Heroes’ Wall: Becomes a physical symbol of Frankie’s father’s hollow self‑image. Frankie’s act of tearing down the photos represents her rejection of false narratives about heroism and her demand that her own sacrifice be acknowledged.
Blood‑Stained Uniform: Frankie wears evidence of her life‑saving work, but others see only a woman out of place. The blood marks her as a real nurse and veteran, yet it repels the people who should be proud of her.
Dr. Durfee’s Dismissal: “There were no women in Vietnam” captures the era’s institutional denial of women’s service. This rejection pushes Frankie to the brink, reinforcing the theme of a nation that refuses to see its female veterans.
Friendship as Rescue: Barb and Ethel’s intervention literalizes the novel’s belief that female solidarity can counter the isolation and trauma of war. Their plan to move to the farm symbolizes a deliberate turning away from the past toward a new, self‑chosen future.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the crucible of Frankie’s homecoming crisis. Every external support system—family, hospital, VA—fails her. The double betrayal (her father’s rejection and the VA’s denial) forces her to confront the possibility of total isolation. Her friends’ rescue is the counterpoint: the first genuine help she receives. It also sets up the novel’s second half, where Frankie will begin to rebuild her life away from her parents. The chapter crystallizes the novel’s critique of how Vietnam veterans, especially women, were abandoned by the institutions that sent them to war.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Frankie destroy her father’s “heroes’ wall,” and what does that scene reveal about their relationship?
Frankie destroys the wall because she sees it as a monument to her father’s lies—especially his claim that she served in Florence. The act reveals a relationship built on performance and denial: her father cares more about social standing than truth, and Frankie has finally stopped protecting his illusions. By smashing the frames, she asserts that her real service in Vietnam is more heroic than any fabricated story.

2. How does Dr. Durfee’s treatment of Frankie reflect the broader societal attitude toward female Vietnam veterans at the time?
Dr. Durfee refuses to believe a woman could be a Vietnam veteran, saying “there were no women in Vietnam.” This mirrors the official erasure of the thousands of women who served as nurses and in other roles. His advice to “just forget about Vietnam” dismisses her trauma and invalidates her identity as a veteran, contributing directly to her sense of invisible suffering.

3. What is the significance of the three women placing their hands together and saying “Away” at the end of the chapter?
The gesture is a ritual of moving forward. “Away” means leaving behind Vietnam, the California home that rejected her, and the overwhelming pain of the past year. It binds the three women in a shared commitment to support one another. For Frankie, it is a fragile but real moment of hope after a sequence of devastating losses.