I read the most important book, yesterday. The Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy by Nancy Nichols. It is an example of great investigative reporting that links the toxic environment to the health woes of so many of us. Run do not walk to get this book. It will make you really angry that even the Supreme Court, does not appear to be on the side of people trying to combat environmental polluters in the court of law...as a result of their destroyed health, however...so many of the things we all might be experiencing can probably be validated. I really hope this helps many of you. Michelle..can you do an interview with Nancy Nichols and post it on your website?
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Thanks for sharing this with us, Pamela. That's why makes you a fabulous best friend and such an advocate for women. I'll let you know if we're able to reach Nancy to have her share her story with all of us on EmpowHer. I hope she say's yes!!
Big hugs,
February 20, 2009 - 11:35pmMichelle
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Hi Aspengirl,
Sounds like a very heartfelt and yet painful book to read. I'm going to RUN out and buy the book tomorrow.
There's no question, more and more people are contracting cancer because of the environment. I actually had dinner with a woman last night who's a 4 time ovarian cancer survivor. She, her sister and their brother all got different types of cancer. Her whole family was exposed to DDT and she's proof positive that they all got cancer from the chemical exposure they received growing up on their family farm in the mid west.
I'm so glad Aspengirl that you're bringing this to the forefront. And I'm so very grateful that Nancy Nichols was brave enough to write The Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy. It must have been so difficult for her to write this book while going through her own cancer diagnosis.
That just goes to show you the Empowerment of sharing. Nancy should be the first recipient of EmpowHer's "Her" Award for sharing her story with all of us.
I've already got Todd emailing her to see if she'll let me interview her. I'm sure our women would love to hear what she has to say.
Best in health,
Michelle
February 20, 2009 - 10:30pmThis Comment
The footnotes in this book are exhaustive. You can tell she did so much research. The book is a quick read but I know there is a lot more info she has from the research. I can't think of a better place to share that info than with empowher. I hope Nancy Nichols feels the same way. Pamela
February 20, 2009 - 10:54pmThis Comment
The book sounds fascinating. Here's what Publishers Weekly said about it:
"In 1992, Nichols' beloved elder sister was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. On her deathbed, she makes Nichols, already a journalist, promise to write about her illness and what the two of them suspected might be the cause of it: massive pollution in their hometown of Waukegen, Ill., on the shore of Lake Michigan. In the midst of working on the book, Nichols received her own diagnosis - she also has a rare form of cancer which requires aggressive treatment. "My story was my sister's once over," she writes. Nichols constructs a fast-moving, urgent narrative that catalogues the evidence of the many different forms of pollution and the likelihood that they contributed to the cancers, documenting the choices and treatment she must face as a cancer patient. There is also, inevitably, a prosecutorial tone and a barely suppressed sense of outrage that such reckless pollution could be allowed to happen. Even if, as she explains, the facts that what she uncovers wouldn't stand up in court, the book still bears witness to both her own and her sister's trials."
You can also read the first few pages here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lake-Effect-Sisters-Towns-Legacy/dp/1597260843/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235148124&sr=8-1#reader
February 20, 2009 - 9:47amThis Comment
Thanks so much for sharing this great info! I'm definitely going to check this book out. It's so scary to realize some of the things that still go on -- there are so many U.S. cities and towns that suffer the long-lasting effects of companies that continue to dump toxic chemicals in the water and soil.
February 19, 2009 - 9:33pmThis Comment
I grew up in Milwaukee, WI and many of the things that have happened to this woman have happened to people I know. My own Internist used to write me up in articles and books and said he loved to see me coming because my illnesses were so unusual...although he also claimed he felt badly for me that I had to live through them.
Thanks for your comments. If you read the book let me know what you thought. Thanks
February 20, 2009 - 8:39amThis Comment
I've contacted the publisher and author of the book to let them know I'd like to review the book for EmpowHer. Hopefully they'll get back to me soon. Thanks again for the tip!
February 20, 2009 - 10:50amThis Comment