Downwind in the Cascadia Weekly today (and Bham's Village Books tomorrow!)

Today the Cascadia Weekly features a story on the writing of Downwind.  Check it out here! Tomorrow author Sarah Fox will be speaking about Downwind at Bellingham's own Village Books, at 7pm.  This week marks Village Book's 35th year in business... a remarkable achievement in a day and age when brick and mortar bookstores are disappearing from our neighborhoods.  Please come out to celebrate a remarkable independent bookstore, and pick up your copy of Downwind!

Village.jpg

Ten days till Downwind debuts in Bellingham!

Bellingham friends! In ten days I'll be heading north to one of my favorite places...  Village Books. I grew up choosing titles there as a kid and a young adult, and I haunted the aisles when I lived in Bellingham in 2003, just before I headed off to grad school in Utah.  I'm especially thrilled to be speaking there during Village Book's 35th Birthday week.  (They're only 53 weeks older than me.) I can think of few independent bookstores I've loved or respected more. I look forward to seeing lots of familiar and beloved faces on Thursday, June 11, 7 pm!.

This week: Support the West Seattle Historical Society by purchasing Downwind and other titles!

This Friday, June 5, Downwind will be featured in the Words, Writers & West Seattle series at the Barnes & Noble in Westwood Village.  From 5-7 pm, I'll be speaking about the journey of writing the book, answering questions, and signing copies. It's my neighborhood so I'm particularly thrilled to be a part of this series, and I'm looking forward to seeing fellow WS faces. The best part though?

"Any purchases made by those attending the talk that afternoon and for the next five days will result in a contribution of 10 percent of proceeds to the Southwest Seattle Historical Society under the Barnes & Noble Bookfair program."

Please come on down and support Downwind: A People's History and the wonderful SW Historical Society!

DOWNWIND featured on Newberry Honor-winning author Kirby Larson's blog today!

I had the pleasure of reading with Kirby Larson while we were both serving as guest faculty for the Whidbey Writers MFA program this past January.  She's an accomplished author, recipient of numerous awards for childrens' literature, and a really lovely human being besides. She invited me to share a bit about how Downwind came to be in a guest post on her blog's Friday Friends feature, which has hosted some splendid writers in the past. Check it out here.

Is Your State on this Map?

Areas of the United States crossed by two or more clouds from atmospheric nuclear tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1962.  Map created by researcher Richard Miller based on AEC records on radiation dispersal from weapons testing.  Widely distributed by downwinder activists to demonstrate how  the fallout from US tests blanketed most of the country during this era.

Areas of the United States crossed by two or more clouds from atmospheric nuclear tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1962.  Map created by researcher Richard Miller based on AEC records on radiation dispersal from weapons testing.  Widely di…

Areas of the United States crossed by two or more clouds from atmospheric nuclear tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1962.  Map created by researcher Richard Miller based on AEC records on radiation dispersal from weapons testing.  Widely distributed by downwinder activists.

Turning over the Soil

When my husband and I bought our home in south Seattle's White Center neighborhood four years ago, I was six months pregnant with our son.  My husband built raised bed garden boxes in the front yard, and we immediately started growing our own food. Fast forward two years: we wanted to transform even more of our 1/3 acre from lawn into into growing space.  Before we broke ground though, I wanted to research something I'd heard about while I was pregnant:

The Asarco Plume.

 

For a full century, the Asarco Company smelted copper at their plant in Tacoma, about 30 miles south of where my family lives now. It dispersed a cloud of contamination bearing lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals across the south Puget Sound region, contamination that persists in soil around the area. 

Our neighborhood appeared to have experienced mild to moderate contamination, but just to be safe, I dug up soil samples and sent them to the University of Massachusetts soil testing lab.  There were negligible amounts of heavy metals, so we went ahead with cultivating food in our soil.  Lots of other folks in our region aren't so lucky. This is a problem that has played out in communities downwind of industrial sites across the United States.  Mines, nuclear facilities, factories, processing plants, factory farms, and other facilities of business all create plumes of contamination, not to mention the risks to environments and populations downwind if an accident occurs at those sites, or on the roads to and from those sites, along which toxic waste and chemicals may be transported.  Turn over the soil in your community: find out what industries have operated there historically, and the risks posed by current industries! This MomsRising blog post on vulnerability zones is a good place to start.  Knowledge is power! If your soil is contaminated, build raise beds and bring in safe soil before you grow food. Raise your voice in your community to make sure your family, your food, and your water are being protected from the byproducts of industry.


Skagit Talks Radio Program on DOWNWIND now available to stream!

If you missed it when it went live on the radio, author Sarah Fox's recent discussion with writer Ann Bodle Nash about Downwind: A People's History of the Nuclear West is now available to stream online.  #citizennarratives #folktales #nuclearweapons #peopleshistory #researchstrategies #genderpolitics #history #Coldwar #nucleartesting #contamination #memory #cancer #activism #justice