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| From Goodreads |
Kate Moore’s account of the suffering of the dial painters in both Ottawa, IL and Orange, NJ is told in a colorful language with descriptive terms. The story of the Radium Girls from both plants is painted in deep strokes covering the many years of suffering which could have been prevented if only the radium companies would have acknowledged the dangers or the miracle “drug” radium.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women begins with the glowing new future the many young women found working for Radium Dial or United Radium. Moore’s story is framed with death, yet there is hope shone throughout by the girls that salvation would come. Each suffers from their own kind of darkness, even in the midst of their glowing lives. Moore’s account of these tragic lives gives light to a situation which was hidden from many, even the women themselves. Each story is sad with others worse than some but all having the same end, death. The girls became known as the living dead because of their fatal condition. Each woman hoped for a cure but also knew none would come.
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| Dial Painting |
By the end of this book, I felt that I knew each of these women, partially because I am close to the same age as many of the women when the symptoms first occurred. Reading the book showed a dark era for America, even though a war had just been won and radium was raising the economy it was not to last. The story is recounted as if one is sitting listening to the tragedy unfold before one as a play (the book is influenced by one, check the Acknowledgements, pg. 405). Each of the main girls becomes a living ghost with the reader, I was often moved by their resolve to continue. If not for some of the women standing up for themselves they would never have received justice because of the denial of not only the company but the doctors, their friends, and scientist that radium was the cause. Kate Moore details the legal struggles the women went through simply to gain this justice and a bit of money to pay for their care as the radium ravaged their bodies, many died while in the midst of this fight. Reading the scenes from court brings anger and a desire for justice.
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| Marie Rossiter (Left), Catherine Donohoe (Center), and Charlotte Purcell (Right) |
This book is a must read for those interested in learning the history of American industry and for anyone who enjoys learning of perseverance in the face of struggle. The many thousands of women depicted now have a voice and a memorial which will not be forgotten as the world moves on. Their lives led to the creation of many protections for workers, as well as scientists who work with radium, or other radioactive substances. The sad end which Moore shares for each of the girls did eventually come to light, even those who were denied justice being misdiagnosed in life. Moore includes images of the main women in her account in the center of the book, some images are even referenced in her text. In these images, they are preserved as forever young and alive untainted by the radium already present in their system. Along with the images, Moore includes her many references for each chapter at the end along with an author’s note detailing her admiration for the women and their families.
References
Moore, K. (2017). The radium girls: The dark story of America’s shining women. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Goodreads.com. (2017). The radium girls. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31409135-the-radium-girls
Stout, S. (2010). Radium: Wonder drug to health hazard [Image of Marie, Catherine, and Charlotte]. The Times. Retrieved from http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/local/radium-wonder-drug-to-health-hazard/article_8be9d790-8321-58a2-9beb-3c66871371ac.html
Viralinside. (2017). The forgotten story of the radium girls, whose deaths saved thousands of workers’ lives [Image of Dial Painter]. Retrieved from http://viralinside.net/forgotten-story-radium-girls-whose-deaths-saved-thousands-workers-lives.html
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