University Honors

Divergent Toxins is a short story following Jamina Sierra, a young woman gathering evidence against her own familyís company, Sierra Pharmaceuticals, due to an impending toxic tort case. The case in question involved a pill containing an endocrine disrupting drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), produced and distributed over twenty years prior and later revealed to have caused severe reproductive issues for women whose mothers took the drug while pregnant with them with the intended use being prevention of miscarriages. Meanwhile, her twin brother Oscar introduces her to his fiance Julia, who ends up finding out that she, too, is affected by the drug after her first prenatal check-up. The story addresses legal issues of liability, causation, and compensation while other key themes include parent-child relationships and related impacts, as well as trust and betrayal.