I learned about this book whilst looking for information about the author's latest one.
It's a book that reads like a novel, but is depressingly, disturbingly, terribly true. It's about greed, desperation, deception, delusion. As the author states, "This is the story of those Americans who've wrestled with the price their communities have long paid so the rest of us can plug in our phones. Some feel that price was worth paying; others don't." (p 308)
When Stacey Haney signed a lease with a fracking company, she was hoping to get enough money to rebuild her barn. Besides, everyone around her was signing, too. She had no idea what these leases would end up costing her. As it happened, whether or not she signed her own lease, the nightmare that quickly followed would have appeared anyway, because of the others. The larger farm up the hill was ground zero for the operation--things literally and figuratively went downhill from there, contaminating water and air. Stacey's son became seriously ill. Their animals began to die. A stench permeated her home. She and her daughter felt unwell. The neighbors thought she was overreacting. They closed their eyes and refused to consider that there was a great deal going wrong. People began to treat her differently--they wanted no fuss that would make the company take their dollars away. One neighbor said that if his water was too toxic to drink, he'd just switch to beer. Nice. Stacey persevered, at high cost to herself, financially, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and finally found people to help her fight back.
This is Stacey's story. This is her family's story. This is a community's story. This is the story of the ongoing degradation of our habitat in the service of a wasteful and unsustainable way of life. This is the story of how some of us can afford to live in our delusions about the true cost of our lifestyles and some cannot. This is a story about grit, dedication, and determination. This is a story about the failure of individuals, government and industry. This is a story that is far too common and too little acknowledged. This is a story well worth your time.
7 comments:
Such a tragedy. And often repeated, I have no doubt. I was seriously disappointed when Kamala Harris backed off her opposition to fracking. I shouldn’t have been, of course. She is a politician, after all. I will look for this book, Shari. Thanks for the review.
No politician who engaged with the reality of things would get elected, not just in the US, but anywhere, I think. It is true, however, that far too many people in the US vote against their own interests, don't like the results, and quickly find scapegoats.
Sounds intriguing and sad…will look for it…brenda
It's a great book. I can see why it won't the Pulitzer. But it is, as you say, very sad.
That should be won not won't 😐
Yes, I like Brenda's description 'intriguing and sad'.
I'm sure this is an excellent read, but this time of year I tend to go for something not quite so sad.
Hope you are slowly recovering from Storm Darragh.
All the best Jan
I hear ya, Jan. It was a request from the library, which I made in October. Then it took several weeks to get here, then Bill wanted to read it. By the time I got to it, it was December. At the moment, I'm reading a Victorian novel by Charlotte Riddell along with my History of Philosophy book.
We still have a boil water notice. At least we have power and water for washing and flushing. Some were without both for days and some are still without power. Tonight there's a low temperature/ice warning. Really strange weather all this year. Hope all is well with you!
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