Comment

Elegy for a Disease

a Personal and Cultural History of Polio
Dec 27, 2017Liber_vermis rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This autobiography will resonate with any reader who grew up in the late '50s and '60s. The author's life was affected not only by polio but also the mental trauma of a manic depressive, abusive father and an enabling mother. The author reveals the debilitating long-term mental and physical effects of polio. This autobiography would have been more personal if it had included some photos. The text has endnotes but many sources noted in the text are omitted from the endnotes. This book lacks an index and bibliography - both of which would have been helpful to readers. The author glosses over the immediate onset of polio as she didn't remember these details from age three so for a more complete life story of a polio I recommend "Black Bird Fly Away" by the late Hugh Gallagher.