The Glowing Ghost

"The Glowing Ghost – The factory girls who painted death on their lips" tells the haunting story of the "Radium Girls." In the 1920s, young women were hired to paint luminous watch dials using a new miracle element: radium. Told it was harmless, they licked their brushes to keep a fine point, ingesting the radioactive poison daily. They glowed in the dark, known as the "Ghost Girls," until their bones began to crumble. Historian Sarah Reed documents their physical agony and their groundbreaking legal battle against powerful corporations. The book exposes the corporate cover-up, where doctors were paid to diagnose radiation poisoning as syphilis to smear the women's reputations. "The Glowing Ghost" is a micro-history of labor rights. It shows how the suffering of these women led to the first laws protecting workers from industrial hazards. It is a tribute to the women who literally gave their lives to light up the time, and in doing so, changed the law forever.