Title: I can't breathe!
Description: "A carcinogenic dust wafts daily from the dark mine onto the hardworking men and into their family homes in Libby, Montana, in 1958. The deadly dust settles on Libby streets, residents breathe it, and it generously goes everywhere the mine's ore travels. The Bowman family includes three sisters, a mentally ill mother, and a father who avoids the turbulent home, unaware of the abuse. The Bowman sisters, ages six to sixteen, each struggle to find their path of least resistance and escape their living nightmare. When their half brother Eric moves to Libby and takes a management position at the mining company, he becomes involved in his father's family in positive ways, as well as the mining company. An investigation of the mining company uncovers evidence that company managers allowed their asbestos operations to poison its miners, as well as consumers of the ore and its products, Two Bowman girls disappear. This harsh story reveals adults who are deeply troubled--and severely damaged children. Can the revelation of this town's dark truths lift any of them toward better lives?"--Back cover.
Subjects: Abused children, Fiction, Asbestos mines and mining, Families
Places: Montana, Libby, Libby (Mont.)