recently I received an email from a woman living in Arizona writing me that her doctor friend recommended me to her to contact me. I was flattered of course that my blog had become at least famous enough that someone from over the ocean took an interest in my blog living with post polio syndrome.

The woman turned out to be no one less than Susan L. Schoenbeck. An author of several books and a nurse trainer with a few awards of her work.She then wrote to me that she had just finished her book titled polio girl. An autobiographic story of her life, her family, her forefathers. And she asked me if I´d be interested to read it. Of course I said yes. I was interested what she would write about.hThe last book I had received from an author was about her dad, a doctor from Bulgaria who had polio. Strangely I found that I couldn´t read this book since it started triggering my own relation to my father. Which also had been tough though even he was very caring from his point of view and that was quite stressful and tensed at times too.

Anyway let´s talk about the Book Polio Girl – it only takes one. A book which is historical in both ways. In one that it describes the times when polio emerged in the US and historical about the time when it happened. And as written a few lines before the story takes you through her family in generations and also the fear polio created based on false knowledge and believes. And in synchronicity that this book is being published in the midst of pandemic times and its quarantines which also happened during the epidemic times of polio. The book also describes a panic stricken society living in fear and what reactions this fear causes way through the different classes of society and how this impacted even the treatment of being rich, poor or belonging to a different cultural background.

The way Susan Schoenbeck writes is very lively and vivid and takes you emotionally into the lives of polio survivors and her own story of course too. Susan Schoenbeck was struck by polio at the age of 7 month. A stage in life where a disease like polio would mark a whole family with a stigma creating  prejudices  by around social circles throughout her whole life. Read how a polio survivor like Susan Schoenbeck learned how to cope with all these situations in her life and how she successfully turned the lessons of polio into a strength by educating, teaching others and writing about her life and other important topics.     

Hopefully my sentences made you curious enough to grab this book and read it. Why? Because it is high time to get the message out there to understand that eradicating polio is not enough. Vaccines are necessary to prevent another outbreak of polio but as equal important is to recognize what polio survivors gave and are giving to society without asking anything in return but just a piece of recognition and respect for their contribution to society..

Do let me know what you think and if you are ready to read it. And if you have let me know what impact this book had or has on you – write to me!