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Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy
On her deathbed, Sue asked her sister for one to write about the connection between the industrial pollution in their hometown and the rare cancer that was killing her. Fulfilling that promise has been Nancy Nichols’ mission for more than a decade.
Lake Effect is the story of her investigation. It reaches back to their childhood in Waukegan, Illinois, an industrial town on Lake Michigan once known for good factory jobs and great fishing. Now Waukegan is famous for its Superfund as one resident put it, asbestos to the north, PCBs to the south.
Drawing on her experience as a journalist, Nichols interviewed dozens of scientists, doctors, and environmentalists to determine if these pollutants could have played a role in her sister’s death. While researching Sue’s cancer, she discovered her a vicious though treatable form of pancreatic cancer. Doctors and even family urged her to forget causes and concentrate on cures, but Nichols knew that it was relentless questioning that had led to her diagnosis. And that it is questioning—by government as well as individuals—that could save other lives.
Lake Effect challenges us to ask why. It is the fulfillment of a sister’s promise. And it is a call to stop the pollution that is endangering the health of all our families.
Lake Effect is the story of her investigation. It reaches back to their childhood in Waukegan, Illinois, an industrial town on Lake Michigan once known for good factory jobs and great fishing. Now Waukegan is famous for its Superfund as one resident put it, asbestos to the north, PCBs to the south.
Drawing on her experience as a journalist, Nichols interviewed dozens of scientists, doctors, and environmentalists to determine if these pollutants could have played a role in her sister’s death. While researching Sue’s cancer, she discovered her a vicious though treatable form of pancreatic cancer. Doctors and even family urged her to forget causes and concentrate on cures, but Nichols knew that it was relentless questioning that had led to her diagnosis. And that it is questioning—by government as well as individuals—that could save other lives.
Lake Effect challenges us to ask why. It is the fulfillment of a sister’s promise. And it is a call to stop the pollution that is endangering the health of all our families.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2007
6 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Nichols
12 books9 followersNancy Nichols has been a journalist for over 20 years working in both print and television. She is the author of Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy. A book about her hometown and a series of health effects that she feels were in some way connected to the pollution in her town.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 7, 2017
Nancy Nichols, a journalist, researched and wrote this book after her sister died of a rare form of ovarian cancer when she was in her early forties. They grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan in Waukegan, Illinois which was and still is a extremely polluted and toxic environment. Her research included the type of pollution, the industry involved, and the businesses who fought the EPA and continued to pollute long after they knew of what was being done to the town. The author also developed a rare form of pancreatic cancer and was caught in the early stages, underwent surgery and chemotherapy. One thing she brought up was all the research being done to find a cure but not enough emphasis done on the prevention. Very interesting book and much more than just the scientific facts. This is a book that should be read by anybody who thinks it's a good idea to get rid of the EPA.
September 26, 2018
A must read for anyone who lives in Lake Or Cook County Illinois or Kenosha or Racine Wisconsin.
Kudos to Nancy Nichols for the amazing research and putting the pieces of this horrific tragedy together and documenting it.
My mother, a third generation born and raised Waukeganite mourned the destruction of her beloved town until her death from lung cancer. Waukegan, as she always said was used up by the big companies and then thrown away. They all disappeared, leaving behind economic devastation for thousands of displaced workers and countless people poisoned into illness and finally death. My grandfather, a long time employee of Johns Manville died a painful death from Mesothelioma, while my mother held his hand. Three generations later, we know the poison still exists and Waukegan is about as poor of a community as there is.
Growing up myself in the community just north of Waukegan in the 70’s and 80’s, I’ve seen the final, steady decline of Waukegan. It’s obvious it was once a beautiful and bountiful community. As Ms Nichols bravely pointed out, has become a haven for impoverished families and undocumented minorities. Housing is extremely cheap, crime is out of control and the school system overburdened and broke. These are all the result of the poisoning of the once beautiful county seat.
Growing up in this area, it was impossible not to know lots of people displaced by the closing of these plants. Often whole families were employed by OMC or Johns Manville and once their doors closed, these families were wrecked. No insurance to manage their wide array of illnesses. No pension. No skills to work anywhere else - Some too old or sick to work. No money left to live the life of financial security some had planned and worked for their entire lives to only grow old in poverty and often illness.
Thank you Ms Nichols for revealing the truth. I’d heard bits and pieces my whole life, but never had the big picture. I mourn the loss of your sister. I will hold my sister closer when I hug her because she was able to win her battle with cancer she was diagnosed with at the young age of 19. Though she still has a wide array of “mysterious” illnesses, she’s thankfully still in remission 30+ years later.
Kudos to Nancy Nichols for the amazing research and putting the pieces of this horrific tragedy together and documenting it.
My mother, a third generation born and raised Waukeganite mourned the destruction of her beloved town until her death from lung cancer. Waukegan, as she always said was used up by the big companies and then thrown away. They all disappeared, leaving behind economic devastation for thousands of displaced workers and countless people poisoned into illness and finally death. My grandfather, a long time employee of Johns Manville died a painful death from Mesothelioma, while my mother held his hand. Three generations later, we know the poison still exists and Waukegan is about as poor of a community as there is.
Growing up myself in the community just north of Waukegan in the 70’s and 80’s, I’ve seen the final, steady decline of Waukegan. It’s obvious it was once a beautiful and bountiful community. As Ms Nichols bravely pointed out, has become a haven for impoverished families and undocumented minorities. Housing is extremely cheap, crime is out of control and the school system overburdened and broke. These are all the result of the poisoning of the once beautiful county seat.
Growing up in this area, it was impossible not to know lots of people displaced by the closing of these plants. Often whole families were employed by OMC or Johns Manville and once their doors closed, these families were wrecked. No insurance to manage their wide array of illnesses. No pension. No skills to work anywhere else - Some too old or sick to work. No money left to live the life of financial security some had planned and worked for their entire lives to only grow old in poverty and often illness.
Thank you Ms Nichols for revealing the truth. I’d heard bits and pieces my whole life, but never had the big picture. I mourn the loss of your sister. I will hold my sister closer when I hug her because she was able to win her battle with cancer she was diagnosed with at the young age of 19. Though she still has a wide array of “mysterious” illnesses, she’s thankfully still in remission 30+ years later.
December 27, 2008
I gulped this book in two days. A must-read for anyone with cancer or anyone close to someone coping with it. Although set in Waukegon, IL for a narrative of "a town's toxic legacy," I couldn't help thinking of Akron, Ohio's toxicity. This is bigger than a memoir--it's investigative journalism, wrapped around the story of two sisters with cancer. I loved her explanation of how we construct cancer narratives and her humor: instead of being a strong, grateful survivor, she was creaky and cranky. Lots to think about!
July 22, 2024
The single best piece I’ve read on the history of toxic industries in Waukegan. An incredible work of investigative journalism and historical research, Lake Effect is a must read for every Waukeganite engaged in the struggle for clean air, water, and healthy equity. As the struggle against capitalist exploitation of people and planet continues, this book should serve as a foundation for future organizers. However this research desperately needs a stronger critique of the capitalist system, understanding of the US as a settler-colonial project, and framework of environmental racism/ justice. Filtering this research through a socialist lens of liberation and contributing to this body of research ourselves, we will fight for the world we will obtain.
“Armed with the knowledge of our past, we can with confidence charter a course for our future.”
-Malcolm X
“Armed with the knowledge of our past, we can with confidence charter a course for our future.”
-Malcolm X
June 20, 2009
excellent job of interweaving her personal story with the big picture. Author grew up by a lake that later became an EPA Superfund site after it turned out that the levels of toxic chemicals (esp. PCBs) stemming from nearby industrial plants were incredibly high, making the fish the local people ate sick. Author's sister died of ovarian cancer, and she herself gets pancreatic cancer in the course of reporting the book. Very compelling analysis of how difficult it is for public health researchers to pin down connections like this in the first place, and then activists to get the situation alleviated in the face of political and economic arguments in favor of status quo.
It was disconcerting reading it as a cancer survivor, while waiting on results of another biopsy, having worked 20 years at a university where cleanup of WW I buried munitions has been going on forever it seems.
Important book -- it's not at the level of Silent Spring just because the basic facts (PCB's are carcinogenic; standards for cleanup used to be pathetic; cleanup doesn't happen overnight) are already well-known, but putting it in the context of one family's tragic experience increases the impact a great deal.
It was disconcerting reading it as a cancer survivor, while waiting on results of another biopsy, having worked 20 years at a university where cleanup of WW I buried munitions has been going on forever it seems.
Important book -- it's not at the level of Silent Spring just because the basic facts (PCB's are carcinogenic; standards for cleanup used to be pathetic; cleanup doesn't happen overnight) are already well-known, but putting it in the context of one family's tragic experience increases the impact a great deal.
July 22, 2014
I still live in this town and have worked to improve the image of toxic town. This story is repeated all over this nation, and although technical at times, it is a must read on the need to push for cleaning up and safeguarding our future. Whether or not you carry the author's beliefs on the cause of cancer, it certainly presents an excellent picture for concern for not only us but future generations.
March 12, 2017
A short but powerful book, not just about what happened to the two sisters but what we all need to be aware of as we live in the chemical age. Well-researched and clearly expressed.
December 17, 2020
A heartbreaking read, only 150 pages or so. I had been browsing my library shelves (such an uncommon thing to do these days with curb-side pickups, and a lot of libraries still not open), and found this book. It was at a library in Lake County, Illinois, so it was obviously a book that affected populations in the area.
Thumbing through the book, which is about Waukegan, I found mentions of areas I knew of, and of Outboard Marine Corporation. My husband worked for OMC back in the day, although not at that plant, but one further inland away from the lake. Alarmed, I checked out book.
The author details the history of Waukegan, bringing in mentions of the town's best known resident, Ray Bradbury. She compared his description of Waukegan, (called Green Town in the book, Dandelion Wine), with its idyllic ravines and shoreline, with the Waukegan she grew up with, which by, then was exhibiting pollution from lakeshore manufacturing plants.
She details OMC's early years, and later the pollution (PCBs, a known carcinogenic) as was found in the harbor. She told of the Johns Manville plant and its asbestos products. I remember visiting the Illinois Beach State Park, in Zion, and walking the southern paths along the lake, and coming across signs warning of asbestos dangers beyond the park's borders. So, I knew the areas that she was writing about. (I also remember going to the beach in the 80's in the distant shadow of the nuclear plant in Zion, and remarking on the warm water.)
Her book was her story of her and her older sister, and of how they roamed the lakeshore and parks in their growing up years, and her sister's later fight with ovarian cancer. She was a researcher, and as she delved into research, she wondered if perhaps her sister's cancer was a result of the PCB pollution in the harbor. As she researched, and after her sister died, she wondered if she, too, was at risk. Eventually she underwent screenings and a cyst was discovered on her pancreas that turned out to be cancerous. She was never able to come up with a definitive link between her sister's and her cancers. The Waukegan harbor has since been dredged and clean-up has been on-going for several years.
This book is a cautionary tale about the failures of the EPA and other governmental agencies (local and federal) tasked with protecting citizens and the environment and the influences of powerful corporations who seek to sweep past actions under the rug. Unfortunately, money talks and people suffer the consequences.
Thumbing through the book, which is about Waukegan, I found mentions of areas I knew of, and of Outboard Marine Corporation. My husband worked for OMC back in the day, although not at that plant, but one further inland away from the lake. Alarmed, I checked out book.
The author details the history of Waukegan, bringing in mentions of the town's best known resident, Ray Bradbury. She compared his description of Waukegan, (called Green Town in the book, Dandelion Wine), with its idyllic ravines and shoreline, with the Waukegan she grew up with, which by, then was exhibiting pollution from lakeshore manufacturing plants.
She details OMC's early years, and later the pollution (PCBs, a known carcinogenic) as was found in the harbor. She told of the Johns Manville plant and its asbestos products. I remember visiting the Illinois Beach State Park, in Zion, and walking the southern paths along the lake, and coming across signs warning of asbestos dangers beyond the park's borders. So, I knew the areas that she was writing about. (I also remember going to the beach in the 80's in the distant shadow of the nuclear plant in Zion, and remarking on the warm water.)
Her book was her story of her and her older sister, and of how they roamed the lakeshore and parks in their growing up years, and her sister's later fight with ovarian cancer. She was a researcher, and as she delved into research, she wondered if perhaps her sister's cancer was a result of the PCB pollution in the harbor. As she researched, and after her sister died, she wondered if she, too, was at risk. Eventually she underwent screenings and a cyst was discovered on her pancreas that turned out to be cancerous. She was never able to come up with a definitive link between her sister's and her cancers. The Waukegan harbor has since been dredged and clean-up has been on-going for several years.
This book is a cautionary tale about the failures of the EPA and other governmental agencies (local and federal) tasked with protecting citizens and the environment and the influences of powerful corporations who seek to sweep past actions under the rug. Unfortunately, money talks and people suffer the consequences.
April 26, 2010
Nancy Nichols grew up in Waugekan, IL in the 1960s and 1970s, when several factories, including Johns-Manville (asbestos) and Outboard Marine (engine manufacturing, which involved metalworking fluids that included PCBs) were dumping waste directly into Waukegan Harbor. Waukegan is also home to the Yeoman Creek Landfill, which abutted a local farm where her family purchased vegetables. Nancy's sister Sue died of ovarian cancer and Nancy herself is a survivor of pancreatic cancer. This book, a combination of environmental history, epidemiology, and memoir, tells the story of Waukegan's industrial rise and fall and Nancy's search for answers following her sister's death and her own battle with cancer. It's compulsively readable and makes a compelling case for the linkage between her cancer and Waukegan's pollution.
November 8, 2011
Growing up in the Lake Huron town of Port Huron, Michigan, the title (and cover art) of this book jumped right out at me. I was ready to read it and see if I could relate to the story. (SO MANY suffer from cancer here that our area has the nickname of "cancer alley".)
I struggled to stay focused throughout the scientific and public policies sections in this book, but I am very appreciative that the author shared her extensive knowledge and research with us.
One of the simple "aha aha" moments that I will keep with me was found on page 103...
"Our lives and our health are the outcome of our own genetic predispositions intertwined with our environment, including what we eat, drink, breathe, and touch."... "Genetics loads the gun; environment pulls the trigger."
I struggled to stay focused throughout the scientific and public policies sections in this book, but I am very appreciative that the author shared her extensive knowledge and research with us.
One of the simple "aha aha" moments that I will keep with me was found on page 103...
"Our lives and our health are the outcome of our own genetic predispositions intertwined with our environment, including what we eat, drink, breathe, and touch."... "Genetics loads the gun; environment pulls the trigger."
October 6, 2020
While this book is about carcinogens and toxic dumping, the chapter "Why Ask Why" is recommended for anyone to read. This chapter takes on the bread and circuses of it all - survivors walks that distract from looking for who and what to blame, backroom deals by elected officials and their appointees that protect industrial polluters, the long-standing tactic of manufacturing controversy over scientific facts. (Tobacco, masks, you name it.)
March 8, 2009
A truly frightening book about what happens when you grow up next to land that is designated a Super Fund Clean up site. I especially enjoyed the chapter that talks about how difficult it is to prove a connection between cancer and pollution in a court of law.
August 19, 2009
Good book--sad story, and really frightening--the issues of what is in Lake Michigan in Waukegan (and I'm sure no where else--ugh....)
Wate and fish are scary now....
If you want a great book on this issue, read Our Stolen Future, which the author sites.
Wate and fish are scary now....
If you want a great book on this issue, read Our Stolen Future, which the author sites.
January 5, 2011
Very interesting and disturbing for those of us who grew up in or near Waukegan, Illinois. The book is very well written, alternating between anecdotal and technical information to keep the pace up.
September 13, 2012
Read this even as a loved one was having a biopsy. Pretty scary stuff especially if you live around here. Knew there was a reason why I don't often go to Illinois Beach State Park. (I thought it was just the smell though)
But Ray Bradbury's right. It is beautiful in many areas.
But Ray Bradbury's right. It is beautiful in many areas.
October 18, 2016
This story is about two girls in my hometown of Waukegan, Illinois. Incredible story and pretty scary for those of us who grew up in this area. I too have never had children...not able to. And often wonder if it is because I grew up in Waukegan.
October 14, 2020
My favorite quotes:
“We also choose to create our own ignorance and then cling to it, in the same way we choose to create knowledge and cherish it.”
“The downward spiral that has gripped Waukegan has similarly strangled communities that have major pollution problems all over this country.”
“We also choose to create our own ignorance and then cling to it, in the same way we choose to create knowledge and cherish it.”
“The downward spiral that has gripped Waukegan has similarly strangled communities that have major pollution problems all over this country.”
September 15, 2012
I grew up in Waukegan, IL, and swam in Lake Michigan as a child. This is the story about the pollution companies like Johnson Motors did. The waters have not been safe to swim in for a long time.
September 5, 2020
Important story but not told in the most cohesive and compelling style
December 9, 2019
while searching for academic books in my campus library found this one title and cover page made me to go through this book..
as we all are know don't judge a book by its cover,
so i read it thoroughly even it wasn't that much interesting.
don't know i have been reading all these tragedy books so far like the kite runner, when breathe becomes air, you're the best wife, her last wish, a thousand splendid suns.....etc.
now this one
among these three of them relating to cancer only
sometimes i think that i learnt a lot about the cancer
coming to the review this book is about two sisters their village how they got cancer in those when nobody knows about this fatal decease. the lake which was polluted because of factories cause this .......
actually i tried to finish this book in one sitting even though it's not interesting
so i gave up
i did't complete it but i read it merely so that i could put this one in my read list
hahaha
in fact that was my another intention to read this book
finally i completed my reading challenge
and
i can add two more in read list by the end of this year.
the reason behind the 2 rating is
it was awesome by reading a book of village background and sister emotions.
again the tragedy cancer it's consequences told in good manner
that's it
as we all are know don't judge a book by its cover,
so i read it thoroughly even it wasn't that much interesting.
don't know i have been reading all these tragedy books so far like the kite runner, when breathe becomes air, you're the best wife, her last wish, a thousand splendid suns.....etc.
now this one
among these three of them relating to cancer only
sometimes i think that i learnt a lot about the cancer
coming to the review this book is about two sisters their village how they got cancer in those when nobody knows about this fatal decease. the lake which was polluted because of factories cause this .......
actually i tried to finish this book in one sitting even though it's not interesting
so i gave up
i did't complete it but i read it merely so that i could put this one in my read list
hahaha
in fact that was my another intention to read this book
finally i completed my reading challenge
and
i can add two more in read list by the end of this year.
the reason behind the 2 rating is
it was awesome by reading a book of village background and sister emotions.
again the tragedy cancer it's consequences told in good manner
that's it
January 3, 2023
Wow. This book is powerful, well researched, and makes a strong case for strong environmental policy. As an environmental engineer I found this to be a fascinating read and would highly recommend it. The story is personal and moving, which counterbalances some of the more technical notes of the book.
November 14, 2024
very interesting book. i had to read this for one of my classes. It was interesting to read on how Nichols focused on the source of her and her sisters illness instead of focusing on how she survived it, and her emotions after her sisters death because of it.
January 5, 2025
This was assigned for a dystopian literature class I took at Marymount High School.
May 30, 2012
I truly enjoyed the sections of this book outlining the author's personal story and the story of her town/research. I got lost in all the technical lingo used to discuss the PCBs and other chemicals. I felt like there was a lot of repetition in the research and when I didn't understand it the first time, it was not very interesting the second or fourth times. That being said, I continued on through the book in order to find out the rest of the personal story mixed in with the technical. Definitely, a terrifying theory on what chemicals in our everyday environment might be doing to our bodies.
August 1, 2009
I expected more of a storyline of these women's experience, but found it to be more about the intense effect the toxins in our environment have on our risk of developing cancer in a lifetime. It was depressing, but a very well researched view of the deadly combination of genetics x environment. The scientific view is that Genetics loads the gun; environment pulls the trigger.
December 29, 2015
An easily accessible but compelling read about family and the modern legacy of pollution.
February 16, 2016
In the wake of the Flint crisis, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the environment, government and health.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews