Atomic Farmgirl Author:Teri Hein The Palouse Hills in the eastern part of Washington State are known as home of the golden wheatlands, a place with some of the richest topsoil in the world. It is also a region forever changed by the dispersals of nuclear waste – accidental and intentional – from the Hanford Atomic Plant only 100 miles south. — In Atomic Farmgirl, Ter... more »i Hein explores a childhood marked by horseback riding, haying, casseroles, a stoic German Lutheran tradition, and the Cold War duck-and-cover drills of the 50s. First and foremost, she tells of her family’s bond to the land: “Wheat is our thing and a thousand acres of it swaying in the breeze is for us in the Palouse about the most beautiful thing on earth. We put pictures of wheat on our Grain Growers calendars and write poems about it when we go off to college.”
The great-granddaughter of homesteaders, Hein captures the evolution of a landscape and a neighborhood in the face of the invasions of the 19th and 20th centuries: the U.S. military, her own German ancestors, and the Manhattan Project. Filled with humor, poignancy, and a deeply personal web of stories, Atomic Farmgirl offers a rich journey into the mysteries of childhood, love, community, and place.« less