God's Green Liniment

by Lois Johnson Rew

The young daughter of a Swedish-American farm family recovers from polio thanks to her parents' prayers and rubbings with green horse liniment.

Paperback

Published September 1, 1981

Reviews

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. (One vote for 3, one for 4). A nostalgic read from my childhood. A Swedish-American farm family in the Midwest (IA? Indiana?) circa 1905. The youngest daughter (age 8?) falls ill with 'infantile paralysis,' or as we know it: polio. The book follows the girl and family over the course of about a year, from harvest to Christmas to spring tornado season to early summer--giving voice to a child in pain who is worried she's missing school and that she may never walk again.

What I liked: honest depiction of sibling relationships (love, irritation, jealousy--it's all there). Also: polio didn't put everyone in an iron lung, and this book tells one such story. And: doctors don't know everything! (Truth.)

What I could've done without: hope for miracles vs the science----but I can find a place for it, too, as a realistic portrayal of a family's faith in a time when some illnesses were not well understood, and where there was no emergency weather service.

[Terry]

This is a flawless piece of work. It is a great human interest story. See why our reviewer calls this a Hallmark movie candidate in his review.