Location: New Jersey Type: Audiobook
Timeline: Linear Genre: Non-fiction
Narration: Angela Brazil - perfect voice to join non-fiction with a novel style story
Review:
Stars: 4
Kate Moore does a great job of turning a non-fiction book into a novel. This book taught me about something I knew little about. The women in this book are brace, hard working, and they never gave up.
These women suffered so much. The details of the pain and debilitating bone cancer was nothing short of heart crumbling. I could really feel for these women since the author and narrator made them seem so real...so alive. Almost like they were sitting in front of me in a plaster cast or without a jaw.
This book is great for pleasure reading but you will learn so much as well. Sometimes the people who change the world get forgotten after the new becomes normal. Let us not forget these women and their families.
Questions:
Why do you think the executives of the radium plan ignored all of the "proof" of the harms of radium to the workers?
Why do you think the women continued the lip-dip process even when informed not to?
What would happen if they stopped the lip-dip process?
Molly, among others, faced sores that caused extreme pain in her mouth. Extracting teeth made it worse.
What were Molly's options for relief?
What would you have done in the same situation?
Molly suffered so much. To add to it all, she tested positive for syphilis. The doctor decided not to tell Molly which was a common practice for some doctors of the time.
How would you feel if your doctor hid information from you?
Do you think this happens today?
Who benefits from this practice?
So many people were overlooked or ignored when it came to effects radium had on them.
Can you provide an example in current times similar to this?
Why do you think it was easy to overlook the effects of radium?
The girls were given the option to use a glass pen (no lip dipping) or the brushes (lip dipping needed). Some girls chose the new glass option but some thought the brush worked best.
Are the girls who chose the brush, at this point, now responsible for the radium consequences to their bodies?
Or is it still the responsabilty of the company to protect them?
Although the court case ended up not helping these women, it did pave the way for the future.
Do you know anyone (personally or through stories) that benefited from the fight these women battled?
Since these events there have been other companies using other substances that turned out to be dangerous and have ended up in court.
In your opinion, what can be done to prevent this kind of thing from happening?
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