Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The powerful first-hand account of the Flint water crisis, the biggest environmental disaster of our time, written by the heroic pediatrician who rallied a community and brought the fight for justice to national attention. In the heart of the world's wealthiest nation, one hundred thousand people were poisoned by the water supply for two years--with the knowing complicity of their government. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the brilliant child of Iraqi immigrants who chose to practice pediatrics among one of the country's most vulnerable populations, first became aware of the problem when mothers came to her asking if it was safe to make formula from the brown water coming from their taps. Then she observed other problems--physical and cognitive--among the children she treated. She suspected lead had gotten into the water supply, but the government stonewalled her inquiries. With the help of volunteer researchers, courageous parents, and her own dramatic undercover investigations, she exposed the government's cover-up and blew the whistle on one of the emblematic environmental disasters of our time.
Here is the inspiring story of how Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha rallied a community with her findings and bold action, and blew open the horrific reality of how a botched austerity policy, government ineptitude, and bureaucratic indifference placed the lives of 10,000 children at risk. The book is a medical and scientific thriller, and simultaneously the story of an incredible woman, immigrant, doctor, and scientist for whom environmental and social justice activism have been lifelong commitments. Just as importantly, it will tell the larger story of Flint - of a proud people caught in the midst of economic change, industrial and environmental decline, and governmental neglect - and the injustices, vulnerabilities, and risks borne by such poverty-line populations in our country. It captures a timely and essential story of how communities can come together to fight for social justice, even in opposition to their own governments.
Synopsis
The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis--the signature environmental disaster of our time--and an inspiring tale of scientific resistance by a relentless physician who stood up to power "Flint is a public health disaster. But it was Dr. Mona, this caring, tough pediatrician turned detective, who cracked the case."--Rachel Maddow
Flint was already a troubled city in 2014 when the state of Michigan--in the name of austerity--shifted the source of its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Soon after, citizens began complaining about the water that flowed from their taps--but officials rebuffed them, insisting that the water was fine. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at the city's public hospital, took state officials at their word and encouraged the parents and children in her care to continue drinking the water--after all, it was American tap water, blessed with the state's seal of approval.
But a conversation at a cookout with an old friend, leaked documents from a rogue environmental inspector, and the activism of a concerned mother raised red flags about lead--a neurotoxin whose irreversible effects fall most heavily on children. Even as circumstantial evidence mounted and protests grew, Dr. Mona knew that the only thing that could stop the lead poisoning was undeniable proof--and that to get it, she'd have to enter the fight of her life.
What the Eyes Don't See is the inspiring story of how Dr. Mona--accompanied by an idiosyncratic team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders--proved that Flint's kids were exposed to lead and then fought her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world. Paced like a scientific thriller, this book shows how misguided austerity policies, the withdrawal of democratic government, and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. And at the center of the story is Dr. Mona herself--an immigrant, doctor, scientist, and mother whose family's activist roots inspired her pursuit of justice.
What the Eyes Don't See is a riveting, beautifully rendered account of a shameful disaster that became a tale of hope, the story of a city on the ropes that came together to fight for justice, self-determination, and the right to build a better world for their--and all of our--children.
"It's one thing to point out a problem. It is another thing altogether to step up and work to fix it. Mona Hanna-Attisha is a true American hero."--Erin Brockovich
Synopsis
The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis, told "with the gripping intrigue of a Grisham thriller" (O: The Oprah Magazine)--an inspiring tale of scientific resistance by a relentless physician who stood up to power. Flint was already a troubled city in 2014 when the state of Michigan--in the name of austerity--shifted the source of its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Soon after, citizens began complaining about the water that flowed from their taps--but officials rebuffed them, insisting that the water was fine. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at the city's public hospital, took state officials at their word and encouraged the parents and children in her care to continue drinking the water--after all, it was American tap water, blessed with the state's seal of approval.
But a conversation at a cookout with an old friend, leaked documents from a rogue environmental inspector, and the activism of a concerned mother raised red flags about lead--a neurotoxin whose irreversible effects fall most heavily on children. Even as circumstantial evidence mounted and protests grew, Dr. Mona knew that the only thing that could stop the lead poisoning was undeniable proof--and that to get it, she'd have to enter the fight of her life.
What the Eyes Don't See is the inspiring story of how Dr. Mona--accompanied by an idiosyncratic team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders--proved that Flint's kids were exposed to lead and then fought her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world. Paced like a scientific thriller, this book shows how misguided austerity policies, the withdrawal of democratic government, and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. And at the center of the story is Dr. Mona herself--an immigrant, doctor, scientist, and mother whose family's activist roots inspired her pursuit of justice.
What the Eyes Don't See is a riveting, beautifully rendered account of a shameful disaster that became a tale of hope, the story of a city on the ropes that came together to fight for justice, self-determination, and the right to build a better world for their--and all of our--children.
"Flint is a public health disaster. But it was Dr. Mona, this caring, tough pediatrician turned detective, who cracked the case."--Rachel Maddow
"It's one thing to point out a problem. It is another thing altogether to step up and work to fix it. Mona Hanna-Attisha is a true American hero."--Erin Brockovich