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What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City
by
The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis, told “with the gripping intrigue of a Grisham thriller” (O: The Oprah Magazine)—an inspiring tale of scientific resistance by a relentless physician who stood up to power.
Flint was already a troubled city in 2014 when the state of Michigan—in the name of austerity—shifted the source of its water supply from Lake Huron to the Fl ...more
Flint was already a troubled city in 2014 when the state of Michigan—in the name of austerity—shifted the source of its water supply from Lake Huron to the Fl ...more
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Kindle Edition, 384 pages
Published
June 19th 2018
by One World
(first published June 9th 2018)
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Start your review of What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

Brilliant public health story plagued by uneven pacing
I have very mixed feelings about this book. When Dr. Hanna-Attisha was actually talking about the water crisis, the book was absolutely brilliant. She readily shares credit with the other people working on the crisis and gives great explanations on the process she and her team went through. However, the book should have read like a thriller, with the crime (lead in the water), victims (the children of Flint), the perpetrators (the MDEQ) and t ...more
I have very mixed feelings about this book. When Dr. Hanna-Attisha was actually talking about the water crisis, the book was absolutely brilliant. She readily shares credit with the other people working on the crisis and gives great explanations on the process she and her team went through. However, the book should have read like a thriller, with the crime (lead in the water), victims (the children of Flint), the perpetrators (the MDEQ) and t ...more

Available as a 11-hour audio download, read by the author.
This is an excellent book to listen to. The author reads well, and the story gains immediacy from the knowledge that the events therein were experienced by the reader personally. The story itself, about how and why many thousands of (mostly poor minority) people were poisoned by their own government, and how and why none of those responsible were ever brought to justice, is a good one to know and remember, because it will happen again – m ...more
This is an excellent book to listen to. The author reads well, and the story gains immediacy from the knowledge that the events therein were experienced by the reader personally. The story itself, about how and why many thousands of (mostly poor minority) people were poisoned by their own government, and how and why none of those responsible were ever brought to justice, is a good one to know and remember, because it will happen again – m ...more

‘Dr. Mona’ achieved national fame for her research showing that the children of Flint were being poisoned by lead when the City of Flint switched their public water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. She was undaunted by governmental officials’ attempts to first ignore, and then smear and discredit her. She knew that her scientific results were accurate and the rising blood levels of lead in Flint’s children were real. Her heroic efforts advocating for their health are inspirational.
Flin ...more
Flin ...more

This is a detailed account of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, when the city's inhabitants were poisoned by lead in the water supply after local government made changes to try and save money. The author is the pediatrician who brought the issue to light and worked tirelessly to gather the data, and fight against the governmental bias, ignorance, and inefficiency that allowed something like this to happen.
In addition to a detailed account of the crisis, Mona gives insightful perspective on t ...more
In addition to a detailed account of the crisis, Mona gives insightful perspective on t ...more

A book that should be read by everybody in the state of Michigan, and everybody who cares about public health and education, children, and their families. You may think you know everything about the timeline and what went down during the "Flint Water Crisis" that poisoned tens of thousands of residents, but you don't. An unexpected conversation between two old friends at a family barbecue--one of them from a family that emmigrated from Iraq--likely saved Flint residents from months or even years
...more

I received this copy free from my university when I attended Dr. Mona's talk in our university. She donated the money she should receive so the university officials used this money to buy 200 copy and distribute it.
Dr. Mona signed this copy for me, I asked her to sign in arabic and we talked in arabic for a couple of minutes, she asked me about baklawa "بقلاوة" which was the strangest question I had so far in United States. And by the way She wrote her name "موني" which is wrong as in arabic we ...more

The story is interesting and important - it's so frustrating to "watch" her fight to get the state to declare an emergency and start getting clean water to the people of Flint! I could have done with less information about her family however. I thought it interrupted the flow of the narrative most of the time.
...more

I’m embarrassed to say that despite all the headlines, I didn’t actually know that much about the Flint water crisis.... until I read this book.
Dr. Mona is phenomenal in her explanations of the egregious racial injustices in Flint prior to and during the water crisis: from unjust housing policies to undemocratic emergency managers to government officials ignoring/denying the lead contamination problem.
The book ultimately shows what a few determined and educated citizens can do to rectify govern ...more
Dr. Mona is phenomenal in her explanations of the egregious racial injustices in Flint prior to and during the water crisis: from unjust housing policies to undemocratic emergency managers to government officials ignoring/denying the lead contamination problem.
The book ultimately shows what a few determined and educated citizens can do to rectify govern ...more

The Michigan city of Flint was in a financial crisis when the decision was made to change its public water supply from Lake Huron to the contaminated Flint River in 2014. Anti-corrosive measures were discontinued too. People in Flint complained about their water, but the city leaders assured them that it was in compliance with state standards. But General Motors stopped using Flint water because it was corroding engine parts.
Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and hospital researcher, was visi ...more
Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and hospital researcher, was visi ...more

This book was everything I hoped for and more.
When I first heard of the Flint Water Crisis, I was in disbelief. How could people knowingly put others, including impressionable and still developing children, into so much danger just because they were too prideful and lazy to own up to mistake after mistake on so many different levels?
Here we are, in the 2010s, and the U.S. government has come so far; it's incredibly reliable and thorough in all the work that it does to try and improve the lives ...more
When I first heard of the Flint Water Crisis, I was in disbelief. How could people knowingly put others, including impressionable and still developing children, into so much danger just because they were too prideful and lazy to own up to mistake after mistake on so many different levels?
Here we are, in the 2010s, and the U.S. government has come so far; it's incredibly reliable and thorough in all the work that it does to try and improve the lives ...more

This is some very solid nonfiction.
At times I found the writing style a bit too colloquial, but ultimately I do think that's a good thing--the more accessible this book is, the better.
In this, Hanna-Attisha details her work as a pediatrician at Flint Hospital, where after a friend pointed out some alarming information about potential lead poisoning in the water, Hanna-Attisha got to work.
This is a comprehensive dive into the Flint water crisis. It's not a complete picture--Hanna-Attisha mentions ...more
At times I found the writing style a bit too colloquial, but ultimately I do think that's a good thing--the more accessible this book is, the better.
In this, Hanna-Attisha details her work as a pediatrician at Flint Hospital, where after a friend pointed out some alarming information about potential lead poisoning in the water, Hanna-Attisha got to work.
This is a comprehensive dive into the Flint water crisis. It's not a complete picture--Hanna-Attisha mentions ...more

Just what I was looking for, a factual account of just what the hell happened in Flint MI where the water was found to be contaminated with lead. Sadly, it is a familiar tale of a poor and minority community being put at risk from the most basic need (water) which most of us assume to be safe without thought as it flows into our homes. This book was just perfect, because it shows what one individual, with love and compassion, can do. Ultimately this tiny Iraqi immigrant took down multiple govern
...more

What the Eyes Don't See is a riveting read. Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician at Hurley Hospital in Flint, MI. Her narrative of how she discovered rising levels of blood in her pediatric patients and her battle to bring justice to the disenfranchised people of Flint is inspiring and maddening.
She describes her anguish and determination to save the children of Flint, how it disrupted her private and family life, and the brick walls and rejection she faced. Thankfully, she was stubborn and determin ...more
She describes her anguish and determination to save the children of Flint, how it disrupted her private and family life, and the brick walls and rejection she faced. Thankfully, she was stubborn and determin ...more

For a long time, Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy has been the book I can't stop talking about and recommending; What the Eyes Don't See will now join it as the book I will suggest to everyone, from my family to the people in line next to me at the grocery store. Dr. Mona brings readers along for every step of her journey into Flint's water contamination, weaving in stories of her own rich Iraqi history and past public health issues. Her clear and approachable prose makes it clear for anyone to see
...more

Wow, this was really hard to read at times. Utterly heartbreaking to think about the impact of such sheer incompetence, negligence, and racism on a whole cadre of already at-risk children; the only glimmer of hope being that someone with Dr Mona’s tenacity could be the right person, in the right place, at the right time to stand up and call bullshit and achieve results in a matter of weeks. A level of activism and moral leadership we should all aspire to.
I could have done without the parts on h ...more
I could have done without the parts on h ...more

The author narrated the audio which often is a recipe for disaster but in this case, works. It is a bit stilted at times but her passion for what she does comes through and overrides the stiffness.
Listening to the book made it tough to remember all the players and their designated agencies.
I have been watching the Netflix documentary on Flint Town which is the story of how the police force cope with crime in that devastated town. The author in Eyes talks about the spirit and resilience of the ...more
Listening to the book made it tough to remember all the players and their designated agencies.
I have been watching the Netflix documentary on Flint Town which is the story of how the police force cope with crime in that devastated town. The author in Eyes talks about the spirit and resilience of the ...more

As a Michigan resident and someone who followed the Flint water crisis reasonably closely, I learned a lot from this book. Dr. Mona tells a well-paced and engaging story while weaving in a lot of background information on the history of Flint, national water regulations, and Michigan politics. Although I've read criticism of the way she incorporates so much of her family history into the narrative, I appreciated that because I think it's very much part of her story and what compelled her to make
...more

This is an incredible book about the Flint water crisis and how powerful it is to use your voice to right the wrongs around you and make a real difference. Surprisingly, this book read as a thriller and was difficult to put down! I was fascinated by all the hard work behind the scenes that took place for the lead in water crisis in Flint to be publicized.
I loved the stories Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha told of her Chaldean-Assyrian family from Iraq – how her family history helped shape her advocacy a ...more
I loved the stories Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha told of her Chaldean-Assyrian family from Iraq – how her family history helped shape her advocacy a ...more

This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Told from Dr. Mona, the pediatrician who exposed the levels of lead in her youngest patients, it is a story of family, science, collaboration, resistance, immigration, and activism. It is engaging, well written, inspiring and infuriating. She writes in a manner that shows her vulnerability and intelligence, the impact on the flint water crisis had on kids and her family. Amazing read!!!!

Jun 02, 2020
Zora
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Zora by:
Michael Moore
Forgive me. It's a hard time right now, and my brain isn't working as it should. I have what Dr. Mona taught me are sort of like a couple of ACEs, adverse childhood experiences, which we know hurts brain development, and apparently AAEs hurt brain function as well because I'm a hot mess. In case in two years, people don't remember what this review's date means? We are experiencing the first serious novel virus pandemic in a century, with the worst world leader since Idi Amin in the US, and I wat
...more

Flint is my hometown and I want to thank Dr. Hanna-Attisha for her diligence and tenacity to bring this tragedy to the public eye. She fought tirelessly and because of her, the citizens of Flint got the attention needed to deal with the crisis. While there is still much to be done, Dr. Hanna- Attisha got things started. She is a hero!!
"Where is the American Dream in the Flint scenario? It's not there. It's not even talked about. It is becoming so out of reach. At the end of their lives, most ...more
"Where is the American Dream in the Flint scenario? It's not there. It's not even talked about. It is becoming so out of reach. At the end of their lives, most ...more

A surprisingly uplifting and positive book, despite the truly awful subject matter (the cost-saving measure that led to the wholesale exposure of Flint, Michigan's children to toxic lead poisoning). Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the child of Iraqi immigrants, is a pediatrician who raised the alarm about lead in the public water supply in Flint, and then pushed gently but inexorably for necessary corrections. She seems to come from a long line of honorable activists and the book is as much a celebratio
...more

Fascinating. I can't believe I haven't seen this one around more. I learned not only a lot about Flint, but also about lead contamination in general.
This book read like a hodge podge of nonfiction and memoir, and the memoir aspect only sort of worked for me. Tbh, I don't like the holiday card "family state of the union" letters when they're from my own family members, so that part of the book was kind of lost on me. I did, however, appreciate her perspective as an Iraqi American woman.
Mona (the ...more
This book read like a hodge podge of nonfiction and memoir, and the memoir aspect only sort of worked for me. Tbh, I don't like the holiday card "family state of the union" letters when they're from my own family members, so that part of the book was kind of lost on me. I did, however, appreciate her perspective as an Iraqi American woman.
Mona (the ...more

Jun 13, 2019
christina
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
for-teaching-assigned-reading,
non-fiction
Some readers found Dr Mona's asides of her family distracting yet this was probably in service of the narration -- to remind readers of the human behind the Flint water crisis -- except her editors really shouldn't have been worried about this because this book is completely dominated by Dr Mona.
Which is why I find this book highly misleading. The title implies this book will reveal the truth of Flint and observe the effects of this crisis but this book is far from that. Yes, it does talk about ...more
Which is why I find this book highly misleading. The title implies this book will reveal the truth of Flint and observe the effects of this crisis but this book is far from that. Yes, it does talk about ...more

Aug 09, 2018
Kat Mayerovitch
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
2018
I feel like this is a must-read for every American. Even now, it's so easy to get caught up in conflicting messages. It's the August 2018 as I write this, and locals are still saying the water is unsafe and undrinkable while institutions are claiming the crisis is over, everything's fixed, and Michigan can pat itself on the back for a job well done. What the Eyes Don't See couldn't be a more pertinent book for the times in which we live.
This book isn't an overview. It won't give you a comprehens ...more
This book isn't an overview. It won't give you a comprehens ...more

The book is good as it is and Dr. Mona is a hero but it should serve as an adjunct, not your primary source, if you're interested in learning about the water scandal in Flint, Michigan. This book is part memoir and part investigative piece but not completely one or the other.
Besides the author herself and a few family members, everyone else is one dimensional and made to fit in a "good" or "bad" box. We learn about how the author found out about the water problem and get a vague sense of its beg ...more
Besides the author herself and a few family members, everyone else is one dimensional and made to fit in a "good" or "bad" box. We learn about how the author found out about the water problem and get a vague sense of its beg ...more

Dr. Hanna-Attisha is a true American hero. Her diligence, dedication, and passion for justice ring loud and clear in this fascinating book, which reads like a memoir with elements of suspense and political intrigue. It would have been easy for her to fall back on medical jargon and the nitty gritty of the science, but she adds a great human element in it that includes her own personal reasons for caring as much as she does for the children and families of Flint. She does crucial work in training
...more

This is a very powerful book, describing the totally inept governmental leadership that led to the Flint water crisis. Dr. Mona led the charge to bring it into the open. Fortunately she also had several equally dedicated individuals that provided critical support to her mission.
I felt an important point of the book is that she and her family are immigrants from Iraq. Her father has a PhD in Metallurgy, her brother is an attorney, and she is an MD (pediatrics). They are productive Americans. Yet ...more
I felt an important point of the book is that she and her family are immigrants from Iraq. Her father has a PhD in Metallurgy, her brother is an attorney, and she is an MD (pediatrics). They are productive Americans. Yet ...more

Wow. This book has given me all the feelings. Anger, sadness, hope, joy, resilience and determination. This is such a stunning account told in the most gripping way. The Flint water crisis is now infamous for the impact harsh austerity can have on a community, especially when those in power disregard you for whatever reason (racism, greed, capitalism, power). I have read tons of books on Detroit, the bankruptcy, and all the various affects on people, especially people of color. But this story op
...more
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Non Fiction Book ...: August/September 2020 Mod's Choice - What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha | 7 | 32 | Aug 20, 2020 10:57AM | |
Play Book Tag: What the Eyes Don't See by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha -- 4 stars | 3 | 13 | Mar 21, 2019 01:03PM |
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“Challenging injustice means standing up for the weak, the vulnerable, the abused, and the forgotten—be it in health, employment, education, or the environment. It means being vigilant on behalf of people who are treated as pariahs and scapegoats, populations that are dehumanized, displaced, and treated as disposable. It means fighting oppression at every opportunity—no matter the place or country.”
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