Maine author Marie Thérèse Martin will discuss her book, “And Poison Fell from the Sky,” from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, in the Jeanne Couture Room on the first floor of the Lewiston Public Library.

Marie Thérèse Martin (Terry) grew up grateful for the paper mill that dominated the economy of her small Maine town. It was only years later, while working as a nurse, that she and her physician husband Joseph Edward “Doc” Martin came to believe that the area’s sky-high rates of lymphoma, pediatric cancer, and lung disease were caused by the smoke and chemicals billowing from the mill’s tall stacks both day and night. Together, they sounded an alarm no one wanted to hear — and began a decades-long fight to expose the devil’s bargain the community had struck with the mill, a fight that Terry continued even after Doc himself fell victim to cancer. The book includes a foreword by Kerri Arsenault, author of the book “Mill Town,” which includes Martin and her husband. The book is published by Maine publishing company Islandport Press, and can be ordered through their website at islandportpress.com.

Martin is a registered nurse, originally from Rumford. She experienced a life clouded by toxic emissions and saw firsthand the effects of a paper mill town on her community. Martin is the author of “Le Visage de ma Grandmère,” a mixed genre that looks at Acadian history and cuisine. She now lives in Hartford and has three children and several grandchildren. For more information about Martin, please visit her website at marietheresemartin.com.

This event is free and open to the public. The Lewiston Public Library is located downtown at 200 Lisbon St. at the corner of Pine and Lisbon streets. For more information about the event, contact the Lewiston Public Library at 207-513-3135 or by email at LPLReference@lewistonmaine.gov.

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