Living with Polio: The Epidemic and Its Survivors

by Daniel J. Wilson

Polio was the most dreaded disease of twentieth-century America. Whenever and wherever it 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 his own experience as a 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 entire life experiences of the survivors—from their alarming diagnoses 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 also details each physical and emotional stage of the disease: the loneliness of long separations from family suffered by hospitalized victims; the painful rehabilitation as survivors tried to regain the use of their paralyzed muscles; and the return home and readjustment to school or work with the aid of braces, crutches, or wheelchairs.

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.

 

"[Daniel J. Wilson] has done an admirable job of assembling more than 150 first-person accounts into a coherent narrative. . . . In the America of 2005, new cases of polio are extraordinarily rare; the World Health Organization hopes toeradicate it completely by 2008. But Mr. Wilson reminds us that more than half a million Americans are still living with its consequences."—Gordon Haber, New York Sun

 

"For readers who . . . did not live during the prevaccine period, Living with Polio provides an excellent survey of the stories of those who had the misfortune of being struck by the disease."—Mark Pallansch, Science

Genres: Nonfiction

300 pages, Kindle Edition

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.