Book review: Raising Elijah

A good one, for parents who care....

It’s possible that our island happens to be one of the best-read communities around….it’s pretty common to see folks with books on the ferry, with bookmarks deep into 700-page novels. Similarly, and with as much passion, we have some of the most informed & involved parents you’ll ever meet.

Put ’em together & you get good books to read about parenting. Here’s a review by island writer & book reviewer TeriLyn Brown about a book that moved her:

I am feeling compelled to write this, a recommendation for a book just finished. There are many personal affinities that I have with it, but they are also elements that are common to  many other people, that I think it is worth the time to write something.  The book is “Raising Elijah” by Sandra Steingraber, now available at the FH library. Steingraber is a mom, a wife, a working woman (biochemist/writer), who lives in a small town in upstate New York, in circumstances many here in FH will find familiar.  She is also a well-respected advocate for environmental concerns, advising our government policy as well as that of the European Parliament.

Sandra Steingraber

Her compelling reason for writing is the silent and widespread poisoning of our environment, especially as it relates, in a disproportionate degree, to our children.  We hear much about so many studies and toxins that, as a public, we are tuning them out.

She has taken up the challenge of presenting the research, side-by-side with the story of her life and that of her small children, in a way that is familiar and accessible to everyone, presenting the subject in a political timeline that compares the current dangers with the successful remediations of the past, such as the federal ban on some pesticides and the use of lead paint.  Her point is that in our current political climate, these kinds of protections are no longer possible, unless there is a greater outcry by parents.

Included are the extremely disturbing pediatric symptoms of lowered intelligence, early-onset of puberty, increased miscarriage/early birth rate, and number of asthma cases — related through specific case studies involving proximity to coal-fired factories and chemical manufacturing plants —  as well as the spiraling, general concentration of hormone disruptors in American mothers with those attendant, increased pediatric concerns.

As a scientist, she is warns that some of these environmental concerns may indeed have negligible effects. But some are clearly and factually dangerous with many studies and reports to support the conclusions. Despite all this bad news, she has the hopefulness of a mother, believing that once we understand the dangers, our parental dedication will inspire action. How she manages to turn this research into hope is one of the most mysterious elements of the book – doing it mainly through inspiring the belief that if we advocate as well as model a different life for our children, then change is possible.

A wonderful and readable book, the only challenge, for parents, is when will we have time to read it.

TeriLyn Brown

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