The Charlotte Hobbs Library Speaker Series welcomes Terry Martin, author of “And Poison Fell from the Sky: A Memoir of Life, Death and Survival in Maine’s Cancer Valley” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, at the Charlotte Hobbs Library in Lovell.
Terry Martin, a registered nurse originally from Rumford, grew up grateful for the paper mill that dominated the economy of her hometown. It was only years later that, working as a nurse with her physician husband, Joseph Edward “Doc” Martin, they came to believe that the smoke and toxic chemicals billowing from the mill’s stacks were causing the sky-high rates of cancer and lung disease in her community. As a main character in Kerri Arsenault’s 2022 bestseller, “Mill Town,” Martin was instrumental in the exploration of the area’s toxins and disease, providing primary-source documents and stimulating conversations. “And Poison Fell from the Sky” is a chronicle of her firsthand experience and her decades-long fight to expose the devil’s bargain the community had struck with the mill, a fight that continued even after her husband fell victim to cancer.
Martin is also the author of “Le Visage de ma Grandmere,” a mixed-genre look at Acadian history and cuisine.
This talk is in-person and on Zoom. For details and the link to join virtually, go to hobbslibrary.org. For more information, contact the Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library by phone at 207-925-3177.
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