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This was a book club read. I am still pretty horrified about what happened to the women who worked with radium early in the 1900s. It is so hard to believe that with all the unusual illness and terrible suffering these women went through that it went on so long.

I did not know much about radium, and knew nothing about the radium girls before reading this book. I was not ready for the intense descriptions of their illnesses and the author beautifully brought these women to life. She showed who they really were other than just victims of work-induced illness. I love the approach she used; her extensive work tracking down records and speaking to family members, trawling through court documents and journals the women kept is astounding. This was a labor of love and respect for these women. There was also the task of making science and medicine understandably by the average reader. This book was masterfully written and an important caveat for modern day workers. We have so many more protections in the workplace now, but I could see this happening again. It’s a struggle between the almighty dollar and the strong desire to deny that things are wrong.

While this book can be quite depressing, it also offers hope and examples of what happens when the human spirit has a stronger will than the physical body. Really interesting nonfiction read!
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This book is incredibly well researched, well written and it was a very enjoyable reading experience, both physically and on audio.

The major complaint I have is that the pacing is a bit slow, particularly toward the end of section two, and for the majority of section three; when the focus shifts from the USRC girls in Orange to the Radium Dial girls in Ottowa. I felt that at this point the structure felt a tad repetitive. 

My second complaint is that I found it quite challenging to keep the cast of major players straight in my mind and I feel that the author could have done a bit more to ensure the reader was able to distinguish them.
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Wow. I cannot believe how little I knew about this! Such an incredible story of resilience in the face of horrific injustice. It was truly hard to read at times imagining the suffering these girls went through. I cried so many times, especially at the trial toward the end💔 These women are such an inspiration, I hope they knew the impact they would have on generations to come. Literally tearing up right now thinking about it 😭
Fuck corporate greed!!! 
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