What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

Author: Mona Hanna-Attisha

Genre: Memoir

Publication Date: 2018

Introduction

What the Eyes Don’t See tells the compelling story of Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and environmental activist, and her work to uncover the causes and effects of the Flint water crisis. The Michigan government switched the water source for Flint from Detroit to the Flint River to save money. The river water is polluted and, even worse, is lead-filled due to a failure of corrosion control. Hanna-Attisha, who holds both a medical degree and a master’s degree in environmental health, learns about the lead in the river water from a friend who worked at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Hanna-Attisha is horrified to realize that the water in Flint is a ticking time bomb, affecting her young patients every day they drink it and leaving them vulnerable to physical, mental, and emotional problems. But even once she uncovers these dangerous effects, she must work against a self-serving government to fix the problem. Through her strong sense of duty, Hanna-Attisha helps the vulnerable people of Flint and eventually gets the water source switched back to Detroit.