the water was safe. Dr. Hanna-Attisha considered that as a pediatrician, she must be an advocate for the children of Flint, and Elin texted her to look up information on the DC water crisis.

In 2002, a drought caused the Potomac River, from which DC receives its water, to become more corrosive. This led to high lead levels in some residents’ drinking water, and DC planned to gradually replace all of its lead pipes over the course of several years. However, at the same time, pinhole leaks were appearing in pipes, even newly installed ones, so a professor of biophysics, Marc Edwards, was hired to determine the root of the problem. When he tested the water, he found lead levels high enough to classify it as toxic waste. This was caused by the introduction of the chemical chloramine, a disinfectant, to the water. Although chloramine is effective at disinfecting water, it is also highly corrosive, and it began corroding the copper-lead pipes of DC. However, when he raised the issue with the Water and Sewage Authority of DC, Edwards’s funding was cut off. Other researchers working in this area were fired, and even Elin, who was working on the project at the time, was removed from the case and placed in a different department when she began asking too many questions. In 2004, this information was reported by the Washington Post. However, the DC government and the Center for Disease Control, rather than fix the problem, developed their own studies to refute the idea that there were toxic levels of lead in the water and further asserted that no children had been harmed by this. It was not until 2008 that Edwards, now working independently, could provide irrefutable proof that there were unsafe levels of lead in the DC drinking water. In 2010, the CDC issued a statement acknowledging the unsafe levels of lead in drinking water and apologizing. However, there was no way to scientifically determine the extent of damage done to the residents and children of DC, and thus, no one was held accountable.

The next morning, by fate, Dr. Hanna-Attisha had a meeting with a health department official in charge of lead in the county. She hoped that by speaking to him, the problem would be solved. Before falling asleep, she began drafting an email to Grace, whom she had previously advised to mix baby formula with tap water.

Chapter 6

Dr. Hanna-Attisha woke to the smell of breakfast and knew that it must be her mother cooking. Entering the kitchen, she greeted Bebe, who was making crepes, and brewed a cup of coffee. Seeing her mother spurred memories, and Dr. Hanna-Attisha narrates some of the experiences she had growing up, particularly some of the ethnic slurs that she and her brother were subjected to when they were young. She considers the racism that dominated the town in which she grew up, noting “we often don’t think about what lies beneath the veneer of the places where we grew up, as if childhood innocence lingers inside us, filtering out anything too complicated or too dark.” She also remembers her mother receiving overseas mail from Iraq. She dreaded this mail, as it often entailed bad news about a family member having to navigate political or wartime upheaval. When Bebe asked about the barbecue, Dr. Hanna-Attisha made small talk with her mother but avoided the topic of Flint water. Nina and Layla came downstairs for breakfast, and as Elliot entered, Dr. Hanna-Attisha left for her meeting with the health department official.

At the meeting, the health official explained that they were hoping to improve the public health program in Michigan, a difficult task given that Michigan had started to rely more on local governments to engage public health. This caused counties with the most poverty, and often the most health issues, to have the fewest resources for health. Dr. Hanna-Attisha asked the health official if he knew what was being done in light of the EPA report that had recently been leaked. The health official simply told her that water came under the jurisdiction of public works, not public health, and that he didn’t know if anyone was acting on this information.

Analysis

Although we are introduced to the idea of Flint water being tainted in the first three chapters of the book, chapters 4–6 provide us with reason to be concerned. In this way, Dr. Hanna-Attisha helps her readers to experience the same kinds of emotions that she experienced. As she brings up and immediately dismisses the topic of water in the first three chapters, the reader is forced to dismiss it as well. It is simply not a topic of concern. However, in the last few lines of chapter 3, we are given reason to believe that this topic should not be dismissed, and it dominates the fifth chapter.

In chapters 4 and 6, Dr. Hanna-Attisha tells stories about her family. Chapter 4 initially may seem like an interruption to the narrative: Elin telling her that the water is tainted, followed by Dr. Hanna-Attisha researching the topic to discover how. However, chapter 4 forces readers to remember that Dr. Hanna-Attisha has many dimensions and roles, including that of mother. Although readers may be interested in learning more about the water crisis and why Elin would claim that Flint waters are unsafe, they must wait, just as Dr. Hanna-Attisha did when she first heard the news. Similarly, just as Dr. Hanna-Attisha had to interact with her mother before discussing the public health crisis with the official, readers must read this part of the story before the main narrative can progress. Although many aspects of the story may seem like non-sequiturs, they are reflective of a real, full, human life, full of waiting, frustration, obligation, and conflicting interests.