Stacey Haney

Stacey Haney is the book’s central character and protagonist. More specifically, she is the subject of its journalistic, almost biographical narration; it is her situation, her actions, her responses to the consequences of those actions, and her choices that define the situation being documented. That situation (the industrial contamination of the environment in which Stacey and her family make their home) is not unique to Stacey or her children; she is, however, the central life around which the author’s investigations are built, and by which they are triggered.

The facts and circumstances of Stacey’s life and identity are primary motivating factors for what might be described as her crusade against Range Resources and their environment-contaminating activities. She grew up in a home where she felt somewhat disregarded by her family, which makes her determined to ensure her children feel cared for, respected, seen...