Polio Years In Texas Summary

The novel The Polio Years in Texas: Battling a Terrifying Unknown by Heather Green Wooten focuses on the rising epidemic of paralytic poliomyelitis, also known as polio. In response to the polio outbreak, Texas researchers thankfully made life-changing discoveries in virology, rehabilitative therapies, and in the modern intensive care unit. Wooten used substantial research and interviews that she conducted over a five-year time lapse with several Texan survivors of polio, as well as their families. From the information collected, a detailed and heartbreaking account was created in this novel of both the epidemic that nearly destroyed Texas and the aftermath of the disease for those who still live with its harsh effects. Wooten earned her Ph.D. in Medical Humanities from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. In addition, she is the author of several publications related to the United States, Texas, and medical history. Her novel The Polio Years in Texas was actually the recipient of the Texas Historical Commission’s 2009 T.R. Fehrenbach Book Award, which is given to authors for being “outstanding original research and writing of the prehistory and history of Texas.” Her novel on the polio years in Texas specifically was outstanding. Polio threatened the lives on countless children and adults, especially in the South. The
This was definitely not an easy subject to read about, but Wooten did an excellent job detailing what these victims of the polio epidemic endured without making the novel too melancholy or monotonous. Overall, I would definitely recommend the wonderfully written novel The Polio Years to any reader because of its never before provided facts and accounts regarding this dark time in Texas