Susanne Antonetta (born 1956, in Georgia), is an American poet and author. Susanne Antonetta is the pen name for Suzanne Paola, who is perhaps best known as the author of Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir (ISBN 1582431167). In 2001, Body Toxic received recognition as a 'Notable Book' from the New York Times, and for making Amazon.com's list of top ten memoirs that year. A portion of Body Toxic was published as an essay entitled "Elizabeth" that was declared a 'Notable Essay' for 1998 by Best American Essays. She has published several prize winning collections of poems, including Bardo, a Brittingham Prize winner, and the poetry books Petitioner, Glass, and most recently The Lives of The Saints. She currently resides in Washington with her husband and adopted son. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A poet exists within a cultural and intellectual tradition and usually writes in a specific language, but the qualities of good poetry are to some extent timeless and address issues common to all humanity. ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Amazon. ... As a literary genre, a memoir forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article deals with the U.S. state. ...

Paola was raised among the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the setting for Body Toxic (and the haunt of the Jersey Devil), in one of the most environmentally contaminated counties in the United States. Paola's memoir merges her personal and familial sagas with historical accounts, politics, and environmentalism. Body Toxic depicts an American family in the midst of what the author perceives as the wreckage of the American dream. Map of the Pine Barrens The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands, is a heavily forested area covering 1. ... Illustration of the Jersey Devil, drawn from a description by Nelson Evans in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 1909 The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey. ... Devils Punchbowl Waterfall, New Zealand. ... Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government. ... Environmentalism is the support of or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ... Historical American flags in Washington, DC: the Betsy Ross flag hangs on both ends and the classic Old Glory is to each side of the current 50 state version. ...

Paola writes about how the poisoned landscape of her New Jersey childhood devastated her body, causing cardiac arrhythmia, seizures, severe allergies, and sterility. She recounts the story of the Radium Girls, details aspects of the frequent nuclear and industrial waste debacles in New Jersey, and relates these events to her family and neighbors. The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... Cardiac arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which the muscle contraction of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal. ... This article is about the medical condition. ... Sterility is the quality or state of being unable to reproduce. ... The Radium Girls was the name given to women subjected to radiation exposure at the United States Radium Corporation factory, in Orange, New Jersey, beginning during World War I, five of whom gained notoriety for their efforts in challenging their employer in court. ... Nuclear materail consists of materials used in nuclear systems. ... Industrial waste is a waste caused by industrial factories or mills. ...

Paola's memoir disputes attribution of her afflictions to genetic vulnerability, random chance, or recreational drug use. Vignettes depicting colossal man-made environmental disasters are woven into her story, accenting the recurrent medical catastrophies she endured, including endometriosis, rampant thyroid tumors, a quadruplet pregnancy (sans fertility drugs) that ended in miscarriage, numerous growths on her liver and ovarian cysts that necessarily had to be removed, all embedded in a time line repeatedly punctuated by manic-depression. Ironically, the latter condition was treated with psychotropic drugs, some of which are derived from the very same dye chemicals dumped, sometimes wrecklessly, into the environment of southern New Jersey. Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... In ordinary language, the word random is used to express apparent lack of purpose or cause. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... Infertility is the inability to naturally conceive, carry or deliver a healthy child. ... Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical that alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness, or behaviour. ...

See also

• Rachel Carson
• Dawn Prince-Hughes
• Radium Girls

Carsons Government Photo (1940s) Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-born zoologist and marine biologist whose landmark book, Silent Spring, is often credited with having launched the global environmental movement. ... Dawn Prince-Hughes Dawn Prince-Hughes, Ph. ... The Radium Girls was the name given to women subjected to radiation exposure at the United States Radium Corporation factory, in Orange, New Jersey, beginning during World War I, five of whom gained notoriety for their efforts in challenging their employer in court. ...

External links

• Bookreporter.aol.com - Body Toxic Chapter One (excerpt)
• Gelmans.com - 'Woman Looks Back At Her Toxic N.J. Youth', Candy J. Cooper (February 20, 2002)
• NYTimes.com - 'Poison: The author recounts how she was shaped by a girlhood that was, quite literally, toxic', reviewed by Michael Pollan, New York Times (June 24, 2001)
• SpiritualityandPractice.com - Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir, reviewed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
• TidePool.org - Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir, reviewed by Christian Martin (2001)