MarieThérèse "Terry" Martin grew up grateful for the paper mill that dominated the economy of her small Maine town, providing jobs for hundreds of local workers. But years later, while working as a nurse, she and her physician husband "Doc" Martin came to fear that the area's sky-high cancer rates were caused by the smoke and chemicals that relentlessly billowed from the mill’s stacks. Together, they sounded an alarm no one wanted to hear and began a long, and often bitter, fight to expose the devil's bargain their hometown had struck with the mill. Through it all, Terry waged a more private battle. This one against domestic abuse, as she tried to reconcile the duality of her husband's personality—the fearless crusader for good in public versus the controlling, verbally abusive partner behind closed doors.
MarieThérèse Martin is a registered nurse, originally from Rumford, Maine. She experienced a life clouded by toxic emissions and saw firsthand the effects of a paper mill town on her community. As a main character in Kerri Arsenault’s 2020 bestseller, Mill Town, Martin was instrumental in the exploration of the area’s toxins and disease, providing primary-source documents and stimulating conversations. Martin is the author of Le Visage de ma Grandmère, a mixed-genre look at Acadian history and cuisine. She now lives in Hartford, has three children and several grandchildren.