Book Club Discussion Questions
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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Radium: The Dangerously Radioactive Element and our BookBrowse Review of The Radium Girls.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
- The Radium Girls is filled with both triumph and tragedy. Which part of the story affected you the most, and why?
- Is there a figure in The Radium Girls that resonates more strongly with you than others? If so, what part of their story or character stood out?
- Even after radium was proved poisonous, and the illness verified as work-related, the radium companies stood fast by their convictions. Why do you believe they were so resilient, and can you imagine modern companies behaving with such similar ruthlessness?
- How do you believe the radium companies, and the press, would have reacted differently to the scandal had the workers been male? Considering the time period, how did their gender help and hinder their case?
- How do you think today's world would be different had The Radium Girls not fought back against the radium companies?
- It takes over 1,500 years for the effects of radium to wear off. This means that the bodies of the women and parts of the towns in which they worked remain poisonous to this day. Despite the harrowing implications, why do you feel this story hasn't been widely explored?
- The Radium Girls is told mostly through the eyes of the radium-dial workers, their families, and friends; however, previous research never focused on their personal journeys. How did it change your appreciation of or engagement with the story to know the smaller, personal details of the girls' lives? Is there another historical event where you've noticed women being pushed to the sidelines?
- Although radium can be seen as an evil entity in the book, it's also been used for the greater good. Explore how radium has changed the world in a positive way. Do you feel it was worth the sacrifice?
- Besides radium, what other world-altering discoveries can you think of that both led to advancement, and also tragedy?
- How were you inspired by the strength of the "shining girls", and how can you carry that onwards to incite change in your own life?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Sourcebooks.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Radium: The Dangerously Radioactive Element and our BookBrowse Review of The Radium Girls.
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