Go with a revolver like a Lady Smith, or if you are dead set on a pistol, maybe the CCP from Walther. If you are looking to keep commonality of ammo with 9mm, look at the Ruger LCR (moon clips and maybe snappy) or a Charter Arms Pitbull (no moon clips).

Bought my wife a Walther PK380. Very easy racking slide and almost no recoil. Added the Walther laser made for it, and she's a dead shot with it.

The sig p290rs in 380 caliber can be racked with 1 finger on the rear sight. It has a over sized slide lock lever which really helps. There is a video on sig site showing a women racking with one finger.

I would agree with Richard, the Ruger LCR is a great gun..

S&w M43C. ,22lr. Best for any lady especially one with arthritis.

I put slide extender back plate on my wife's G42. She now has a grip to pull the slide with.

My advice may sound crazy to some of you because its for conceal carry purpose and, many of you do not trust this brand of gun, but I highly recommend the JA.380. The Jimenez has a super easy slide to rack, at least in .380, I haven't tried any other Jimenez. Now like all guns, range test it before trusting it to carry daily. But the slide is like glass on ice, so smooth and easy. I currently own a Ruger LCP380, and a Taurus 709 9mm too, and the Jimenez is way easier then these or anything else I've ever handled. I've owned 2 JA.380s, I liked them both a lot.

Charles -- have you let her try a small revolver? Maybe a Ruger LCR, Smith 442, or something similar? Might well be worth checking out, and recoil isn't really too bad with a .38 (not +P) load. Good luck.

You might want to look into Springfield's new XD-E. One of the big selling points is that the slide is significantly easier to rack than that of it's competitors.

There are some techniques out there to help. Should be some videos on YouTube for this exact scenario. An alternative that y'all may consider is a revolver. Revolvers can be much easier for people who cannot rack the slide on heir firearms