In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, killing more than 200,000 individuals within a year.
Tens of thousands of other individuals survived, but little is known or documented about their lives. In Japan these individuals are called“hibakusha,” which means atomic-bomb affected people. Writer Susan Southard spent 12 years researching how radiation exposure, government-denial, and psychological trauma have impacted the lives of five hibakusha individuals who were all teenagers when the bomb was dropped.
She tells their stories in “Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War” (Viking Penguin/2016). Southard speaks about her work and the ethics of nuclear warfare as part of the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series at Sandhills Community College tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Host Frank Stasio talks with Southard about her work.
