Structure

The book is divided into three parts: Knowledge, Power, and Justice. The parts are almost equally divided: 19 chapters in Part 1, 21 chapters in Part 2, and 15 chapters in Part 3. The titles of the parts suggest a positive trajectory for the story because they are empowering topics. The women’s pursuit of Knowledge takes place mostly in New Jersey because the epidemic broke out their first. They also had the resources, like Dr. Martland, to make the first discoveries of harmful radioactivity in the human body. Once the knowledge was acquired about their diagnoses, the women’s story began their pursuit of power and authority to be heard. The second part depicts how the Orange dial-painters rose to the top of media discussion and found Berry, who helped them reach a settlement. Catherine just begins learning about her lack of power in Part 2 as unfortunate events unfold in Illinois. Finally...