The Clan of one-Breasted Women Reaction Paper by Terry Tempest Williams

The Clan of One-Breasted Women

Reaction Paper

The Clan of One Breasted Women written by Terry Tempest Williams is her account of how the Mormon women in her family ended up with cancer and died as a result. The author recalls as a child having a dream about seeing a bright light in the desert while sitting on her mothers lap. While talking to her dad one day, she was told that she really saw the light and that it was not a dream. The light was the result of atomic bombs being tested in Nevada. Ms. Williams's mother, grandmother, and six aunts had cancer and have had mastectomies. Two survived after having chemotherapy but seven died. This was when Ms. Williams had realized why so many of her family members and people living in Utah were diagnosed with cancer. Some women filed law suites and protested, trying to stop nuclear testing, but the attempts were unsuccessful. The United States Government guaranteed the American public that nuclear testing was not the cause of cancer in that part of the country. The government was poisoning Nevada with atomic bomb chemicals and as a result killing innocent people.

My reaction to what I have just read is shocking. I think that Ms. Williams has suffered tremendously and I am surprised that I have not heard of this happening. The Mormon women were taught to let things go and to not make waves but how can this not affect them. To know that any children that they have will most likely be exposed to radiation and probably be diagnosed with cancer is heartbreaking. This would definitely make them not want to have children. It seems that the government should have taken a more sensitive position on what happened and compensated the families. In my opinion the people responsible for this will never admit to wrong doing because it would open doors to other tragedies that they caused. Ms. Williams states that she is tired of not saying anything and not standing up for herself and I feel that the whole Mormon community should feel the same way. A good quote is "The King can do no wrong" meaning the government is resistant to the damage caused to the people of that region and has no intensions to help them. In addition, they overturned a previous decision by one judge to award damages to ten plaintiffs using a doctrine that was centuries old.

I found Ms. Williams Story heartbreaking and I hope that the parties responsible for this tragedy steps up and does the right thing.

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