[.ca] Having Faith (ISBN 0425189996)

Truely eye-opening:
I loved Sandra's book. I wish I had read it before in my early twenties, and not now AFTER the birth of my first child. I would have taken more steps on making sure to reduce the amount of toxins environmentally. However, her way she weaves thru the facts and her own story was brillant. A great read. Highly recommanded.

So empowering:
I'm a breastfeeding counsellor here in the UK and do my best to keep up to date with research pertaining to anything to do with breastfeeding. This book, which I came upon purely by accident, opened my eyes to a whole new problem. I found the book so informing and so well written. I have a whole new avenue of personal research to investigate now and, I have information to share with parents who want it. I feel empowered because, as the last chapter offers, I have ideas now as to how I can play my part in making the world of breastfed babies, my own and others, a safer place to live. With grateful thanks to Sandra for opening my eyes.

Beautiful and Necessary:
Sandra Steingraber is my new heroine. Her writing is magnificent, and her concerns very much my own. She manages to explain the inexplicable (we are poisoning our babies, and don't stop even when we see the evidence) in a way that does not frighten as much as persuade. She indeed has faith, and I am so grateful to her for facing these fearful realities during her pregnancy -- as she points out, if pregnant women don't face these things, who will? Her refrain "We shall not abstain" -- asking why it is pregnant women who must restrict themselves, not producers of toxics -- is common-sense political brilliance and unmasks the hypocrisy of a society that pretends to protect the vulnerable with technological might, but is really not interested when facts run counter to the fantasy of omnipotence. Her writing is so vivid that I burst into tears at the end of her labor-and-delivery story, as I do at any filmed depiction of birth. Thank you, Sandra.I'm giving it to all my friends, and sending it to some politicians!

An insightful book on the environment and pregnancy:
This book was such a joy compared to all the clingy books that track the monthly progress of your pregnancy. Of course, those books fill their need, but I believe that all expectant mothers should read this. I was attracted to the book because I am environmentally-minded. I couldn't stop reading it because it was well-written, intelligent, and touching. There are only a few sections where the science is a little obtuse, but actually, most of the writing is so down-to-earth, that it is easy to forgive some of the "heavier" science. I had a few clues about some of the environmental dangers she writes about, but the book is so well-researched and so good at explaining the problems, that it was quite an education. A good book for ALL people to read, I believe.

A Call to Arms:
This book is amazing, Ms Steingrabers style of writing - hard (and often frightening) facts interspersed with personal vignettes - makes it a pleasure to read. I couldn't put it down. As a childless woman I do wonder though, how a newly pregnant first time mother might react to such startling information; this is not a caution to avoid reading Ms Steingrabers book but rather a suggestion to read it well before conception or to allow time for the full impact of the book to be integrated (and perhaps the panic to recede). The truth would seem to be that there is no longer any clean air on this planet of ours and pollution of all kinds is a daily reality regardless of where in the world we live, breast fed human babies are at the top of the food chain therefore serious, long lasting action should be taken to protect our offspring from the concentrated amounts of toxins they can potentially receive inutero and postpartum - when you know what's going on, you can call for change. Happy reading.