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Open Book with Jenna

“The Nightingale’ Author Kristin Hannah On How She Went From Lawyer to Bestselling Author

Open Book with Jenna

NBC News

The Today Show, Today Show, Read With Jenna Book Club Podcast, Read With Jenna Podcast, Jenna Bush Hager, Today, Nbc News, Nbc Today Show, Read With Jenna Book Club, Read With Jenna, Society & Culture, Nbc

4.8784 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than twenty novels including ‘The Nightingale,’ ‘The Four Winds,’ and “The Women.’ A former attorney, she has made it her mission to tell the often forgotten stories of women in history. Kristin sat down with Jenna Bush Hager to chat about how books were a constant in her life growing up, how her mom knew she was destined to become a writer, and how she transitioned from a lawyer to best-selling author. She also reveals the intense research she does for her historical novels, and how her latest novel ‘The Women’ was more than twenty years in the making.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Kristen Hanna is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than 20 novels,

0:12.5

including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale.

0:16.1

This year celebrates 10 years since the Nightingale's release,

0:19.5

and Kristen is gifting the world with a stunning 10th anniversary edition

0:22.7

of this unforgettable novel

0:24.3

that is enthralled a generation.

0:27.2

Kristen's latest novel, The Women,

0:29.2

revolves around a young nurse

0:30.6

who enlist in the Vietnam War

0:32.0

and later returns home, a changed woman.

0:35.6

It remains on the New York Times bestseller list more than a year

0:38.4

since its release. Kristen is a former attorney who decided to try her hand at writing a novel

0:43.6

while on bed rest during a difficult pregnancy. She began selling historical romance novels,

0:49.2

but her career changed after she published Firefly Lane, a beloved novel about two best friends.

0:55.5

The novel would go on to be adapted into a hit TV series. Books have been a constant in Kristen's

1:01.0

life and have given her a sense of comfort through difficult times. In fact, it was Kristen's

1:06.2

mother who knew that she was destined to become a writer. Now Kristen has made it her mission

1:11.6

to tell the often-forgotten stories of women in history

1:14.9

and has made her mark on the publishing industry.

1:18.3

I'm Jenna Bush-Hager.

1:20.0

Welcome to my podcast, Open Book with Jenna.

1:45.2

Thank you. Kristen, I'm so happy you're here. You are the number one New York Times bestselling author of so many of my favorite books. The Four Winds was a read with Jenna Pick. The women has been an incredible runaway hit Firefly Lane. I mean, I could name

...

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