Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

In 2016 in the area where I live in the UK there were reports that it could become the home of over a thousand fracking wells as well as the site of coal-bed methane extraction. Fortunately due to environmentalist pressure and also the growth in renewable energy a moratorium on the controversial process has been put in place and the Scottish government said in October 2017 that it backed an "effective ban". No doubt the opposition to fracking has been strengthened and emboldened by the environmental horror stories that have emanated from the USA.

If you have any doubts on the subject then I thoroughly recommend this seven years in the making study of the environmental disaster that impacted on a small town in rural south west Pennsylvania and in particular on the life of Stacey Haney a mother of two who is at the same time working as a local nurse while trying to maintain her small farm. After, like many others in the area succumbing to the advances of an all powerful and ruthless energy company, Stacey begins to experience the physical effects on both her family and animals that the drilling has caused

At times this makes painful reading as we learn of the close incestuous relationship that the State and the so called environment protection agencies have with the energy companies and how these companies are prepared to mislead and even falsify evidence to get their way. The book also shows how the whole fracking issue has split communities that since the demise of coal and steel have been in deep decline and how the majority of the community saw it as a chance to revitalise their decaying towns and make some money. A thoroughly thought provoking and gripping tale of how much the ordinary person has to go through to achieve justice. Well worth a read.