Toxin Toxout: Getting Harmful Chemicals Out of Our Bodies and Our World
*Starred Review* The authors of the best-selling Slow Death by Rubber Duck (2010) return to answer the most common question raised by that book’s fans: “How do we get all these toxins out of our bodies?” In a collegial, straightforward style, Lourie and Smith quiz doctors and researchers, converse with wellness activists, visit organic stores and companies and, most interestingly, engage in a variety of experiments to track how the more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals in use today got into our bodies and what it will take to get them out. (Test results after eight hours spent in a warm car will cure you of the “new-car-smell” appeal for life.) Along the way, they drop some eye-popping statistics, such as “over 40% of kids born in the United States today will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime,” and they identify which  companies are pursuing cleaner products versus those who skirt regulations. Scrupulously researched and sourced with thorough chapter notes, Toxin Toxout is remarkable both for its content and appealing narrative voice. Simply put, this is a book no one in the industrialized world has the luxury of ignoring. --Colleen Mondor