Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial was recommended by one of my local libraries. It was described as a nonfiction account that reads like fiction with unbelievable villains and a storyline to rival fiction. That was accurate. 

To get right to the point, this is a story about citizens of Eastern North Carolina that live so close to hog farms that every day is impacted by hog waste in the air. Most of these citizens are poor and Black and hog giant, Smithfield, has made it near impossible to lodge complaints. Through many bellwether trials, a big hearted lawyer does her best to make these people seen and heard. 

As someone who identifies as a North Carolinian, this story really gutted me. I have only visited the Eastern part of the state, but this book truly brought it to life and captured what is so special about any place folks call home. I would encourage anyone to read this and use it to make decisions about voting and contacting your representatives. While this book does have a riveting conclusion, the saga of industrial livestock waste is far from over.