Two Daughters of Fission
Fiction vs. Fact: Comparing Manhattan Project Stories
The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA) invites you to a special program, “Two Daughters of Fission,” featuring authors Dr. Leslie R. Schover and Julie E. Coryell. Both are daughters of fathers who worked at X-10 during the Manhattan Project.
The program will explore the impact of the Manhattan Project by comparing how the story is told through fiction and nonfiction.
Join us for this unique look into Oak Ridge history!
Event Details
Program: Two Daughters of Fission
Fiction vs. Fact: Comparing Manhattan Project Stories
When: Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Midtown Community Center (Wildcat Den/Oak Ridge History Museum), 102 Robertsville Rd.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Dr. Leslie R. Schover
Dr. Leslie R. Schover, a retired professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will discuss her novel, Fission: A Novel of Atomic Heartbreak, a fictionalized account based on her parents’ experiences in Oak Ridge.
Dr. Schover lives in Houston, TX and is the author of four novels.
Julie E. Coryell
Julie E. Coryell, who was born in Oak Ridge on Christmas Eve in 1943 and is a co-founder of Women Studies at the University of Washington, will share insights from her nonfiction book, A Chemist’s Role in the Birth of Atomic Energy. The book is a compilation of interviews with her father, a chemist who worked on the Manhattan Project.
Ms. Coryell is a graduate of Harvard (Radcliffe) and lives in Port Townsend, WA.
