Last week, I dreamt that I rode my bike to a convenience store with a lottery ticket that I learned was worth at least a million dollars. Once there, at a counter that seemed more like the post office than a convenience store, I began going through my large black messenger bag. I thought I knew right where the ticket was, but when I pulled it out, it was just some receipt – I looked and looked to be careful, but no. Then I pulled out a paper that seemed carefully embossed and official, but it said “Kroger.” When I woke, I was still plumbing the depths of my bag.
I have taken this to mean that this book is a million-dollar lottery ticket. It certainly means more to me than that. And I have been working to take great care now – to dot all the i's and cross all the t's -- and keep all the receipts. So last Monday, I met with a literary lawyer and am following up on consents and permissions, doing all the things…. What a relief it will be to know that all the various people from whom I sought stories have signed onto the message I am trying to convey – that the poisoning of our children is unforgivable, and that we must change our ways and seek amends.
Finally, on Wednesday I sent Poisoning Our Children off to Johns Hopkins University Press – my top choice of publishers in the world because of their long history, sterling character, and stainless credibility in global environmental health.
These email file transfers may seem humble, but to me they are monumental. This book is my complete bucket list, and I would sacrifice almost anything if it helps spare other families the suffering we -- and many others -- have endured. Heartfelt thanks to my editor Robin Coleman, who saw the value in this work and granted me the chance of a lifetime in supporting its completion.
I am boundlessly grateful to all those who have cooperated in this project – the scientists and healthcare providers and public health experts and activists and, most importantly, the children and families who have experienced environmental tragedies. All I can say is thank you – and fight on – for all that is most truly precious -- for children’s environmental health, for the health and safety of all humans, and for the entire perishable, irreplaceable planet on which all life we know of persists and perdures.
Having the chance to change our society so that we stop systematically poisoning our children is worth more than any amount of money. Any small profits I make from this book I have committed to the organizations named therein: Environmental Working Group (EWG), Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN), Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT), Rise St. James, Richmond Our Power Coalition, and others.
This golden ticket is not really about gold at all, of course. The real treasure in this endeavor is proclaiming the truth told with a whole chorus of experts: that children are dying needlessly, that families like ours are immiserated without cause – except to enrich heartless industries that thrive on the deaths of children – and everyone else. Perhaps that is why success brings only tears, only bittersweet relief, and anxious care to ensure the project crosses the finish line.
