Living with Polio: The Epidemic and Its Survivors

by Daniel J. Wilson

Polio was the most dreaded childhood disease of twentieth-century America. Every summer during the 1940s and 1950s, parents were terrorized by the thought that polio might cripple their children. They warned their children not to drink from public fountains, to avoid swimming pools, and to stay away from movie theaters and other crowded places. Whenever and wherever polio struck, hospitals filled with victims of the virus. Many experienced only temporary paralysis, but others faced a lifetime of disability.

Living with Polio is the first book to focus primarily on the personal stories of the men and women who had acute polio and lived with its crippling consequences. Writing from personal experience, polio survivor Daniel J. Wilson shapes this impassioned book with the testimonials of more than one hundred polio victims, focusing on the years between 1930 and 1960. He traces the entire life experience of the survivors—from the alarming diagnosis all the way to the recent development of post-polio syndrome, a condition in which the symptoms of the disease may return two or three decades after they originally surfaced.

Living with Polio follows every physical and emotional stage of the the loneliness of long separations from family and friends suffered by hospitalized victims; the rehabilitation facilitieswhere survivors spent a full year or more painfully trying to regain the use of their paralyzed muscles; and then the return home, where they were faced with readjusting to school or work with the aid of braces, crutches, or wheelchairs while their families faced the difficult responsibilities of caring for and supporting a child or spouse with a disability.

Poignant and gripping, Living with Polio is a compelling history of the enduring physical and psychological experience of polio straight from the rarely heard voices of its survivors.

Genres: Nonfiction

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I thought it was a bit too academic, which made it tedious at times. The snippets of personal experiences made the book. I especially laughed when reading about the hijinx of the young polio patients in the hospitals and rehab centers.

[Madison Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

fuck polio

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the experience of surviving polio. Mixing personal anecdotes, history, and some basic medical information, Wilson charts the course of the disease from its first symptoms through the acute stage of infection, recovery, rehabilitation, and living as a person with a disability. He also recounts the challenges faced by aging polio survivors who develop post-polio syndrome. The stories included in the book cover a range of experiences, from people with relatively mild disabilities to those rendered permanently respirator-dependent.

Although quite readable on the whole, the narrative occasionally bogs down in unnecessary repetition. Nevertheless, I found Living With Polio to be well-organized, comprehensive, and insightful.

[Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought Provoking

As a polio survivor myself, I have read much on the subject and also individuals' personal stories. This book is both informative and very personal. It covers a wide range of peoples ' experiences. I was in awe of how people dealt with insurmountable odds with so much courage. Many experiences I could relate to, and others were vastly different from my own due to the time period and geography. I would highly recommend this book to all polio survivors or any interested party.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book.

This was a very good book. It will only have interest to someone who had polio or had a family member with polio.