Just when I thought, “yay something good is finally going to happen in Iverson’s memoir,” that thought got ripped out from under me. I was appalled that the court case was revoked. I don’t see how any judge or jury in their right mind could say that the first ruling could be incorrect. There was so much evidence against Rocky Flats that it seems impossible that they could not be penalized for all of the health problems. However, there they are. The worst part is that after all that they didn’t even clean up the site well. On the last page of the book Iverson says that with the rain the ground turns to mud. I think this is intended to be a little ironic because it makes the reader think about what is underneath that mud. I know when I read it I thought, “well great now the plutonium is just going to come to the surface and cause more pollution.”
I don’t think I should be too disappointed in the book though because Kristen rekindled her relationship with her father. This is actually what shocked me most in the final chapter. To me their relationship seemed doomed after their history. However, when they went to Starbucks and she said she loved him I was surprised. At first I couldn’t help thinking that she was stupid for even wanting to have a relationship with him after what he put her through. In chapter seven she actually says that her father is one of the things that scared her most in life. How can you love someone that causes you pain? But after finishing the book I realize that it is good that she made the effort to actually talk to him. It shows that people can change. Iverson relays the detail that her father isn’t drinking much these days (331). I believe that this shows that people can change no matter how much evidence is against them. This is a lesson I believe Iverson wants us to take from the book.
I have to agree that even though there were many disappointing facts in this last chapter, there was still that element of overall hope. She may have witnessed a great step back in the progress with the court case, but she still reawakened her relationship with her father. He finally seems to have it put together, and realized that avoiding the truth can only hurt you more than help you. He definitely seems more open, and that's one of the reasons, I believe, that his relationship with Kris is so much better than it ever was before. All she ever wanted from either of her parents was the truth, and for one of them to accept, understand, and admit what was really going on. I am so happy for her, and that there was at least one shred of hope to hold on to through this devastating chapter.
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