And Poison Fell From the Sky
A Memoir of Life, Death, and Survival in Maine's Cancer Valley
9781952143397
216 pages
Islandport Press
Overview
Marie Therese Beaudet Martin grew up grateful for the paper mill that dominated the economy of her small Maine town. It was only years later, while working as a nurse, that she and her physician husband Joseph Edward "Doc" Martin came to believe that the area's sky-high rates of lymphoma, pediatric cancer, and lung disease was caused by the smoke and chemicals billowing from the mill's tall stacks both day and night. Together, they sounded an alarm no one wanted to hear—and began a decades-long fight to expose the devil's bargain the community had struck with the mill, a fight that Terry continued even after Doc himself fell victim to cancer. Martin's memoir, And Poison Fell From the Sky, includes a foreword by Kerri Arsenault, author of the book Mill Town, which includes Martin and her husband.
Author Bio
Marie Therese Beaudet Martin is a registered nurse, originally from Rumford Maine. She experienced a life clouded by toxic emissions and saw firsthand the effects of a paper mill town on her community. As a main character in Kerri Arsenault’s 2020 bestseller, Milltown, Martin was instrumental in the exploration of the area’s toxins and disease, providing primary-source documents and stimulating conversations. Martin is the author of Le Visage de ma Grandmère, a mixed-genre look at Acadian history and cuisine. She now lives in Hartford, has three children and several grandchildren.
