Breath: A Lifetime in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung: A Memoir

by Martha Mason, Anne Rivers Siddons (Introduction)

After contracting polio as a young girl Martha Mason of tiny Lattimore, North Carolina, lived a record sixty-one of her seventy-one years in an iron lung until her death in 2009, but she never let the 800-pound cylinder define her. The subject of a documentary film, an NPR feature, an ABC News piece, and a widely syndicated New York Times obituary, Martha enjoyed life, and people. From within her iron lung, she graduated first in her class in high school and at Wake Forest University, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She was determined to be a writer and, with her devoted mother taking dictation, she became a journalist―but had to give up her career when her father became ill. Still, Martha created for herself a vast and radiant world―holding dinner parties with the table pushed right up to her iron lung, voraciously reading, running her own household, and caring for her mother when she became ill with Alzheimer's and increasingly abusive to Martha. When voice-activated computers became available, Martha wrote Breath , in part as a tribute to her mother. "This book is her story," writes Anne Rivers Siddons in her preface, "told in the rich words of a born writer. That she told it is a gift to everyone who will read it. That she told it is also as near to a miracle as most are likely to encounter."

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Medicine, Medical, Autobiography, Book Club

342 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Martha Mason has a lively style, an abounding vocabulary, and never lingers on unpleasant topics long enough to depress. She obviously had a charismatic personality, as well as keen intelligence. Her will to live, to succeed, and to excel are amazing. However, these alone do not a great book make.

Even though Breath is promoted as a tribute to Martha Mason's helpers, it seems to me more a self-tribute to her own "indomitable spirit" and "insatiable quest for knowledge". The fact that she was valedictorian in high school, junior college, and at Wake Forest is impressive. But she couldn't have managed any of this without her mother giving up her own life to be her daughter's amanuensis, handmaiden, nurse, and companion. Yet at college graduation the best she can say is, "My mother had done her job well."

Even though her entire family were devout Christians, she "didn't have the genes" to believe what they lived out in her presence. She believed only in herself. While she claimed to be (and I'm sure she was) grateful to her many caregivers, she missed no opportunity to point out their short-comings (especially poor Ginger's) in addition to their virtues. She was the center of her own universe -- which is understandable considering what her physical universe consisted of -- but it's a shame that her universe didn't include anything or anyone greater than herself.

As a memoir (and not a full autobiography) the book leaves many questions unanswered, among which are: Where did the money for all the equipment, food, helpers, and other medical care come from? How did it feel inside that iron lung?

What can one learn from this book? Very little, I'm afraid. The feeling I was left with is that only Martha Mason could have accomplished what she did. It was her spirit, her intelligence, and her will power that kept her going all those years. She was, right from the beginning, an extraordinary person "locked inside an inert body." She never tells us that she learned, grew, or in any way improved throughout her life, leaving us nothing we could apply to our lives. This could have been a great inspiration, but is really only an interesting story.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sweet and poignant story of a young woman who contracted polio at age 12 and spent the rest of her life in an iron lung. Although her sharp mind and love of words are amazing, the real hero of the story is her mother, who cared for Martha all of her life and also went to school with her, making it possible for Martha to finish high school and graduate from Gardner-Webb and Wake Forest. The main issue I have with this book is the order in which the story was told, in a non-linear, counter-intuitive manner that rather confused me. I found it sad that Martha had a wonderful example of faith in her mother's relationship with Christ, yet blithely dismissed it herself with the words "the traditional 'faith of our fathers' isn't in my genes." Despite overcoming such crushing obstacles and living her life with joy, Martha missed out on the most important thing of all.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martha Mason contracted Polio at the age of 11, shortly after her older brother, Gaston died from the same disease. Where Gaston died quickly however, Martha lived in an Iron Lung longer than anyone else in recorded history. She did not let her illness define her life and instead continued to live her life as usual, albeit with a few changes. She got her high school diploma, attended and graduated from college and even worked for some time as a journalist. This is the story of a ordinary life lived in an extraordinary fashion.

I admit that I was a bit skeptical when I read this book that a woman living in an Iron Lung could attend college or care for her ailing parents in their home. After reading this, I am a believer. Martha was an extraordinary woman who did not let Polio get her down. She was so excited to go to college, as were her parents, that they all moved into a building on campus so that she could experience the full collegiate lifestyle. Much later in life she used her skills to provide for her parents, including laboriously spelling out each word on checks and shopping lists, counting pills, and explaining tasks to her helpers. She also describes how her helpers cared for her, setting her up with a book and then turning the pages as needed every minute or so for hundreds if not thousands of books, until an electric page turner was invented. She also had to be bathed, fed, dressed, turned, and cared for in every way imaginable, as helpless as a baby in many ways. She related one story about having potato salad up her nose all day until someone noticed and helped her. I was frankly really amazed that one woman could do as much as she could. More than one doctor had told her parents that she would not live for very long, perhaps a year at most. I usually save my 5-star reviews for authors who have really gone the extra mile in one fashion or another in telling their story. I feel that 5 stars for this book is more than warranted. This is a poignant and uplifting story about Martha and her drive to live. She writes very well about her upbringing in a small North Carolina town in the mid-1940's and some of her writing is really funny. One of her helpers reminded me a great deal of the fictional character of Amelia Bedelia. I really enjoyed reading this story. I think you would like it too.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like a heel for not liking this book (after all, this amazing woman lived a full life for 61 years in an iron lung.) The reason I wanted to read the book was to to learn how she psychologically survived the transition from being a normal child to one living in an iron lung as well as how she psychologically managed on a day-to-day basis for 61 years. There was little to none to little of of that in this book except for a cursory mention of depression after an illness. She begins the book with extensive description of her mother's descent into dementia. While I realize that her mother was her champion in life, the description was excessive. While she describes various parts of her life, if you weren't aware that she was living in an iron lung, the narrative could have been written by anyone and, frankly, it is boring as all out. Maybe that was her point - to prove to the world that she was living a normal life. However, she obviously did not lead a normal life, but I never got the gist of what she was really feeling.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book free through Goodreads First Reads. I thought the subject sounded interesting, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. By the end of the book, I found myself feeling that I truly knew Martha Mason. I felt she was a person I would have loved to have been able to meet, and was saddened to read that she had passed away in 2009. What an amazing person! I loved reading about her relationship with her mother and was touched deeply by their devotion and love for each other. Even though I had expected to finish this book feeling sorry for Martha, I didn't- I couldn't. I ended envying her and her wonderful, rich life. I am now left anxious to know more about her. I hope her passing was peaceful & she was with those who loved her. I am so grateful for having been introduced to this remarkable woman. I think this is a book just about any reader would enjoy.

[GraceWastheAnswer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free from goodreads first reads. It wasn't a good week for me to read a book (this one only 334 pages took me a week). I was worried, but I am the first reviewer.

REVIEW:

Martha Mason was a born writer. Her words are vivid, and are capable of transporting the reader into her world. She accepted her disability, and lived her life regardless of circumstance. With sacrifice from her parents, she finished school, attended a college, and excelled at them both.
Martha, by her own words, seemed to have a love for people. I wish I could have met her.

FURTHER EXPLANATION:
I give this book either a 4 star rating, or a 5 star. I disagree with Martha on a few things,(although I understand her, even her thoughts have been my own...) but that is *not* why I *did not* give her book the 5 star award of perfection. She is an excellent and capable writer. What *I* (personally, before I'll give it) expect from a 5 star autobiography, is that it imparts wisdom to me of some sort, or challenges/inspires me to better myself. I suppose though that a memoir is different from an autobiography. I couldn't expect *more* from her really, in the case that it were a history book about Martha.

Bottom line: The slot I'm filling in is "my review/ what I learned from this book". I didn't perceive *learning* anything significant. The book is simply the story of her life the way she saw it. I thought I would come away with a more appreciation of my circumstance, through the course of the book, than when I first read what it was about(for someone lived 60 years in an iron lung). In the case that this is a history book, a statement of facts, such as the book I read on Napoleon, then it certainly deserves no less than 5 stars.

She says that she didn't feel mundane or ungrateful.... but she doesn't really teach me how not too. She presented one philosophy: Live every moment like your last... I never got that. What about planning for the future? Shall I quit my job? Quit school? That's good advice, but there is a balance in there somewhere. I'm not being snarky. She also said, that it didn't work all the time. She does, however, do a grand job of colorfully weaving her story together. I enjoyed that part of the book very much. I enjoy books where they suck me in enough where I can forget about the rest of the world. Martha's book doesn't deserve a bad review, and I have no intention of giving her one. She is a skilled, descriptive writer. I believe it is a good book, about her life. She describes it adequately, and enough, in a way that could entertain you. Perhaps, if that were all I were judging it on, then I suppose she deserves 5 stars. I don't know the woman, however, so I don't know how well she described herself. The book lacks, in my opinion, what I personally believe needed to get a five star rating. It does not rate up with the other 5 star auto/biography books on my shelf. They teach me something about life, whereas Martha fails to use her writing skills to interweave a lesson in her book, or inspire me, perhaps to better myself, in some way. Her life is inspiring. But she fails to use her writing to do that. Unless, someone is interested specifically in the facts of Martha Mason, then I wouldn't recommend this book to them.
.................................................................

My personal thoughts: (I set aside this section sometimes to talk about things that don't fall into my review.) Many people interject these, in replace of their review. No one has deemed that inappropriate, so I'd assume this would be even more acceptable.

Martha repeatedly shoots down the Bible throughout the book, and God especially. By her own admission she never had much time for the Bible...
She went off to play when her Grandmother read the Bible to her brother. She refers to the Bible as a storybook, and claimed that reading "Donald Duck" during church, benefited her more than the Bible.

I did not know what this woman believed when I first picked up her book. She could have been atheist, for all I knew. I don't evaluate books in that light. (unless they are specifically pro-Christianity) However, she mentions repeatedly, that her entire family was devout Christian. The book, supposedly, in part, is dedicated to her mother. Her father tells her never to forget about Jesus, at the end of chapter 7, and she tells about how much her brother Gaston wanted to be a preacher. She supposedly (I don't doubt it) loved her family very much, and part of the reason of the book was to honour them. Yet she makes them a bunch of idiots. Her opinion is her own, but she let her hate for God, exceed the love for her family. For her family's sake, I believe that she should have been more discreet. Also, for Ginger's sake! I wonder how, her "friend" Ginger feels about the whole world knowing how such a bad dresser she was (in Martha's opinion,) and how how clumsy she is! That is her decision, however, and that is my personal thought.

I understand, and understood Martha's feel for Christianity. In her defense, she was surrounded by hypocritical, nominal (in name only, not actual) Christians. I was like her, but am a Christian today. Not Ms. Kate, (coveting is not the same thing as wanting),but the pastor who thought he was fit to lead a church, yet didn't study his Bible enough to even answer a little girl's questions, is the one who "offended one of the little one's, and was better off having a heavy stone hung around his neck and being drowned in the depths of the see, than having been born", in addition to her boyfriend's father, and all of the hypocrites.

Martha never thought her Bible of much worth, and misinterpreted alot, *not unlike* me. She blamed God for everything bad in the world, and attributed everything good to anything but.

God doesn't damn people to Hell. She, and I once believed the opposite true. By studying, I discovered, the Bible (yes, the Bible) says, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17)
"The Lord is... not willing that any should perish..." II Peter 2:9

The Devil, and Sin, damns people to hell. Sin basically, although, it is the Devil who is the original sin.
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned;" Romans 5:12

Sin corrupted everything. The bad in the world is not God's fault. God is responsible for the good.
God never wants us to die. We weren't supposed to originally. But sin crept into the world, and brought death and wickedness with it. Even the flesh on our bodies was corrupted. God does not want us to die, but He is not going to let us continue hurting each other either. He loved us more than He loved Himself. He died for us. He was born man, through a virgin woman named Mary, so he could die. He was the Son of God, and His name was Jesus Christ. He didn't put on us anything that He wasn't willing to go through Himself. He took on everyone's death sentence, so that they could go free.
When the body part of us dies, the rest of us is sent Home to be, with Him, away from the corrupted world full of disease and wickednees. Also, we get a new, sin-free body!
It is a free gift available to everyone! I also learned that you have to accept a gift, like you have to accept your mail, not leave it setting at the Post Office. But it's not hard. Accepting a gift isn't hard. I just have to say, "Yes, God! I accept your gift of eternal life! Please,forgive me of my sins!." (The Bible says that we have a sinful nature, and that we all have sinned.)

And the thing with Isaac, (along with so many other things) bothered me also for so long. But I found, (along with each and every other thing) that I was not getting the complete picture.

God promised Abraham that his children would multiply as the stars in the sky! But his wife, was FAR, past the time of child bearing. God gave Isaac to Abraham. God gave Abraham a miracle! Abraham had another son, Ishmael, but God said, that it would be through, Isaac that He would fulfill His promise.
In Hebrews, in the *>NEW TESTAMENT<*, 11:17-19 I found my answer. "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, that IN ISAAC SHALL THY SEED BE CALLED: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead;..." Abraham knew that God could even raise him up from the dead. He promised Isaac to Abraham.

"So what? God is cruel! He doesn't know how it feels to kill your own son, or how it feels to die." _ My thoughts exactly, except I have a good memory. In the above verse, the phrase "his only begotten son" stood out to me. I heard it somewhere before... I heard it in John 3:16,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave *his only begotten Son,* that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

God knows exactly what it feels like! God did NOT take Isaac! But He did give up His Son! He knew how Isaac felt too! He was sharing with Abraham, how much He loves us! He was willing to do that to His beloved, precious Son! I see God in my mind standing over that rock, with that precious young life in His hands! Who could look at their own son and do that? He felt what we feel! The Bible says, that (paraphrase)"He who formed the eye, shall he not see? He who formed the mind, shall He not know?" What about the heart? He wants Abraham, and us to know how *He* felt. He wants us to know that, we made Him do it. We made Him do it, because of the greatness of His love for us. I have learned that God has never asked us to do, anything that He wasn't willing to do Himself.

I also learned that there is a difference between the Old and New Testament. God told us in the Old Testament, what we have done, and what we deserve. The New Testament completes the picture, by showing the love God has for us. That justice is not His plan but mercy.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Martha Mason was 12 years old, her doctor told her, "You'll die soon," and only 59 years later, she proved him right. This is the life story of the woman who lived longer than any other known individual in an iron lung, written by the quadriplegic author with the help of voice-activated software. (And if you are younger than 50, you will have no idea what I am talking about. An iron lung was a type of permanent respirator that, when I saw pictures of them as a child, looked to me like coffins for the living -- huge and terrifying.)

This book portrays small town life in the late 1940's and 50's, reminds us how blessed we are to live free of the scourge of polio (Hurrah for Jonas Salk!), celebrates the power of faith, friendship, and community, and chronicles the tale of an ordinary family's tragedy (within a week, polio killed the author's brother and left her paralyzed from the neck down) which, in the end, proved them not to be ordinary at all.

I read this book at the urging of a friend who had known the physical therapist who treated a 12-year-old Martha during her long and arduous hospitalization. I confess to thinking, "What can the author possibly have to write about? She lived in an iron lung." That, as they say, was my mistake. Ms. Mason had a lot to say about accepting that which cannot be changed, refusing to let tragedy define a life, and insisting on living with curiosity and cheer. That she did so -- so very well for so very long -- is a testament to her own strength and a tribute to that of her parents.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an extraordinary book. I can't imagine looking at life the way Martha did if I had been in her position.

Breath wasn't just about her and her selfless mother for whom she credits her survival, it is also about her whole community who made her life livable. Teachers who would make sure she graduated not just from high school but from college as well, fellow students who enriched her days with gossip and highlights from school games as they studied with her. There were also friends and neighbours who brought food when she was sick so her mother wouldn't have to leave her side and even a doctor who never charged for house calls and was always willing to place a bet against her on the local games.

Martha lived her life through all those "people she collected". She got to experience the world through the videotapes they would make for her of their travels and the foods they would send.

There were times in the book when it seemed she thought she was smarter than everyone else and when her mother's health began to fail one of her first concerns was for herself but she never claimed to be a saint. She was a normal human being with normal failings.

What I took from her book was her appetite for life. She didn't want to be pitied, she wanted to show how enriched her life was despite spending 60 years in an iron lung.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of a woman who has lived her life in an iron lung. Inspiring

[Jeannette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did (sorry, Paige). This memoir tells Martha's story, she's believed to have lived longer in an iron lung than anyone else. She died at age 71 after spending 61 of those years in an iron lung. She contracted polio at age 10 just days after her 13-year-old brother died from the disease. She always wanted to be a writer and even though she was confined, her parents made sure she completed high school (top of her class) and got her degree at Wake Forest. She became a newspaper reporter. and she did all of this while confined to a room in an iron lung. Since the technology didn't exist back then, her mom took all of her notes and wrote whatever Martha dictated. Eventually, Martha got a voice-recognition computer and that's how she eventually wrote her memoir. Sounds fascinating yes? Eh... I got bored and skimmed about 60 percent of the book. None of what she accomplished would have been possible were it not for her mom's steadfast dedication. In her older years, her mom suffers strokes and dementia. Martha spends a great deal of the book on her mom. I think it could have been shorter. Where I really feel shortchanged though is by the fact that Martha says a lot yet tells us so little about how polio changed her. She talks about her friends, who stuck by her, but never shares what it was like to watch them play, grow up, have boyfriends, husbands and families. All while she can't move. Except for one paragraph where she mentions depression, it's as if living in an iron lung is no big deal. She never explains the concerns she surely had about that iron lung malfunctioning. She had a generator if electricity went out, but I've read that since there were so few of them, there were few people who knew how to fix them. She lived in this thing for 60 years and never had a problem? She also doesn't provide great detail about polio and its effects. She mentions Roosevelt once, never explaining that he got polio as an adult. Yet in the book, it seems only kids are susceptible to the disease. I googled it and now know why that is (adults were thought to have had some degree of polio as children and built up immunity). she doesn't explain that while she can't move her legs/arms, unlike a quadriplegic, she can still feel. I think she missed an opportunity to educate us more.

[Margaret Gamez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps the most inspiring and uplifting book I have ever read.
I discovered it when I suddenly wanted to know what had happened to those folks who I’d seen, as a child, on TV human interest stories, who lived in iron lungs.
Martha Mason lived some 60 years in an iron lung after contracting polio when she was 11. The iron lung was her lifeline, forcing air into and out of her lungs. Without it, she would have died.
You might think that a person confined for life to a machine might have some reason to gripe, yet there is nary a self-pitying word in her memoir. On the contrary, Mason’s voice is sprightly and cheerful, as she describes her life. She recounts how her parents, and the people of her small community in North Carolina all chipped in to help her experience a full life, graduate from high school, then college, and, ultimately, find employment as a journalist.
I found particularly touching her brief relationship, in the hospital, with a cheerful and well-educated young woman in the next iron lung over, who taught her about, and instilled in her, a love of classical music (Sadly, that young woman died).
Mason lived a full life, surrounded by friends, who rallied to help her when her mother, her lifetime caretaker, passed away, leaving her responsible for her own care. They found state programs to assist her, and ultimately discovered a way for her to have a state of the art computer, which would allow her to connect with the rest of the world.
The way in which Mason describes each of her challenges and how she was able to overcome them is quite inspiring. This is not just the story of one disabled woman, but, also the story of how a community came together to give this woman the fullest life possible.
It’s hard to feel sorry for yourself, no matter what, after you read this book. If you follow up, and watch the video which was made with Martha Mason, you might wonder, hearing her cheerful voice, how you could ever not be cheerful, no matter what is happening.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Ugh. I thought this book was going to be fascinating - the memoir of a woman who lived for 61 years in an iron lung. But I cringed at least once on every page. Here was my inner dialogue while reading:

"This woman is completely maladjusted."
"She lived in a can; so maybe give her a break on that one, why don't you?"
"Oh my god - she's used the term 'in the theatre/stage/movie screen/cinema/movie theatre of my mind' AGAIN".

It's not fascinating or revelatory, and honestly, I doubted that many of the conversations/events in the book even unfolded as she described them. A lot of her recollections seemed more like you WISH a conversation had gone, looking back, than how most conversations actually go. Not much rang true in this one.

A college professor once told the author, "You'll never write until you fill your pen with blood. Now it's full of ink. You must tear down that wall keeping the world out." Unfortunately, Ms. Mason didn't take that advice, and the result is a book that makes an iron lung sound pretty wonderful, actually! Like, you never felt even a little bit bummed out that you weren't going to ever walk to the store, or have a sexual relationship, or travel? Maybe insisting that everything is great is the only way to thrive in such a life, but it sure doesn't make for a good memoir.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being inspired by a person does not, unfortunately, automatically translate into liking their writing. I feel heartless to admit that I didn't really care for this book. The author goes through so much (death of a brother, polio that leaves her completely paralyzed) and it clearly meant so much to her to finally write her story in her own words...I wanted to love it. But many of the anecdotes have a sickly sweet/too good to be true/Mayberry-esque sheen to them that rang false to me. Still, it's a quick read and it's a window into a world none of us will likely ever understand (unless the anti-vaccination movement continues to grow) and for those reasons alone it might be worth reading. Another positive--for some reason I was expecting a very Christian outlook involving lots of talk about god's plan. She's clearly attempting to keep hold of some religious belief, if only for the sentiment of it, but I found the author to be refreshingly pragmatic about the likelihood of a higher power.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martha Mason had an idyllic childhood in a small North Carolina town. In 1948, with devastating speed the polio virus all but destroyed her family, killing her 13 year old brother and paralyzing her from the neck down at the age of 11. Martha is a born storyteller. She relates her life before and for 50 years in an iron lung after the catastrophe. She never surrendered her intellectual curiosity and her enthusiasm for learning. She attended college with the devoted assistance of her mother and father. This memoir really put the polio epidemic in perspective for me. As a child in the 1950s I remember my parents' fear of the polio virus, a fear that was transmitted to me. It took so many young lives. Martha Mason, being an exceptional fighter managed to reclaim her own.

[Mrs. Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martha Mason contracted polio at age 11 in 1948. She survived, but she spent the rest of her life in an iron lung, paralyzed from the neck down. With the love and support of her mother and father, she graduated from high school and college and eventually became a writer. Her story is inspirational, but not in a treacly way. Her story is fascinating as she recounts her childhood, her illness, her recovery, and the realization that she would never walk or breathe on her own again. Throughout, she maintains a deep faith in God and she surrounds herself with books and a wide circle of friends. It's not my usual type of read, but it was enjoyable and it gave me a glimpse into the life of a remarkable woman. Mason passed away in 2009, after nearly 60 years in her iron lung.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had mixed emotions about this. I was repulsed at the way she lived (I could not spend 45 years in a tube and have my mother wait on me hand and foot and wipe my butt and turn my book pages. Sorry, all, but it's the truth) and confused at her family's choices. However, it was well written.

http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/...

[Tfalcone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next time I complain about anything at all, remind of this book. Here is a woman who spent 51 year sin an iron lung and has a great attitude....

[Laura Arive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book! My uncle lives in an iron lung for roughly 40 years. Wonderful to hear Martha Mason’s story. She never felt sorry for herself and lived a full and happy life.

[Georgia Herod · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Life is 5% what happens to you and 95% how you respond and what you make of it." This quotation sums up the life of Martha Mason, who spent 61 of her 71 years dependent on an iron lung.

You might anticipate that the book would be depressing. However, Martha was a most remarkable person who had a hunger to learn and read voraciously. She familiarized herself with music and art, as well as literature. She appears cheerful and cordial for the most part. A bright young woman, she graduated high school, then college with honors and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa--all the while in an iron lung.

Obviously she could not have achieved such success without the devotion of her mother and other caregivers.

It would have been easy for her to wallow in self-pity and a slough of despond, but only once (!) does that seem to be her state of mind. She surrounded herself with people she enjoyed--hosted dinner parties and book groups. Her lifelong goal was to become a writer--and voice-activated technology brought that to fruition after her father had a stroke and her mother no longer had the time to take Martha's dictation.

That Martha didn't pay higher tribute to her mother and rather cavalierly dismissed her parents' faith was somewhat disheartening. Perhaps more expressed gratitude would have affected my concluding thoughts.

Martha Mason lived an amazing life. She brings to mind another woman whose life has been amazing as well: Joni Eareckson Tada is another woman who has lived over 50 years as a quadriplegic, bound to her wheelchair. She has had an amazing life--serving others with disabilities and sharing her faith.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of triggering content, beyond the obvious of serious illness resulting in paralysis. CW: sibling/child death (preteen age), parent death, dementia

I read this book because my kid was running through the library and was like "i'm gonna pick out a book for mommy!" and grabbed this. Memoirs of people I've never heard of are definitely not something I would pick up on my own.

But I'm glad I read this! I know vaguely of polio's place in our history - a friend of my family had it as a kid - but reading a first-hand account is pretty harrowing. But beyond that Martha Mason has a really great voice for writing, it is a shame that she was only able to really write once she was in her fifties.

There were a lot of parts of this that I felt were really impactful, in no particular order:
- When she first gets access to a computer, it is such an incredibly joyful passage. I love the way she calls it her Prince Charming, it was very cheeky and cute.
- She does an amazing job characterizing the good in her parents and also the way they were products of their generation. But especially her mother, there are so many really joyful and harrowing experiences, just in terms of their relationship caring for one another.
- Reading about her brother's death and then her immediately entering the hospital, what an incredibly traumatic experience for her and her parents.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 40s and 50s in the summer, polio was an ever-present threat. In the summer of 1948 Martha Mason came down with polio and was admitted to the hospital - the day of her brother's funeral. He died from polio. Martha spent the next 61 years in an iron lung. Her mother devoted nearly the rest of her life to taking care of Martha. This book is kind of a love letter to her mother who helped her graduate high school at the top of her class and helped her graduate top of her class at Wake Forest. To say the very least, this was not easy. Martha was an incredibly brave and strong girl and woman. The details of her life inside the iron lung are fascinating. The book was written in 2002 (I think) but the parallels between the polio scares and COVID are amazing. I can't imagine being willing to risk your life because you don't want a vaccination. I'm willing to bet Martha wouldn't understand that either.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1948, at the age of eleven and before the advent of life-saving vaccines, Martha Mason contracted polio. Although she survived the disease itself, it left her a quadriplegic confined to an iron lung, and her parents were advised that she would not live out the year. Martha not only exceeded those discouraging estimates regarding her potential life expectancy, but graduated as valedictorian from high school, earned a college degree, and lived to the astounding age (under the circumstances) of 71. She lived in her iron lung for 61 years, and this is her autobiography.

The experience, or even the idea, of an iron lung is more or less foreign today, so this was a quite fascinating read, as well as a curious peek into a time gone by. NB: As of 2014 there remained 10 people worldwide still living in iron lungs.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that had been on my list for many, many years. I tend to forget what it's to be about or why it was added but, I was not disappointed. What an incredible story/memoir. When I first started reading and how it just seemed to just right into her adult life still in an iron lung, I was really wanting back story. Part 2 was just that, the beautiful recollections of her childhood in the early 1940's; not a care in the world, no distraction of technology or places to be...just truly in the element of living life outside. I can't imagine that time frame of the polio scare, to have lost one family member and now the daughter has polio- what an incredibly scary and heartbreaking thing to go through.

[Kate N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of a young girl who at age 11, her older brother died of polio, she contracted polio and then lived another 61 years in an iron lung. Her parents were staunch supporters, even helping her get her college degree, but they both passed away before she did.
To effectively wrap up Martha's attitude she says: " I have come to like what I have, rather than always to have what I like." Her positive attitude never waned.
I cannot imagine how exciting the day was when she owned a voice operated computer!
Everyone should read this book.

[Candace Hilt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it was written by a person in an iron lung rather than someone who has done extensive research on polio. You can get a good sense of how Martha is feeling about the life she has lived and the people she has had beside her throughout the book. It was a very well written book that I would recommend to anyone. You learn about many different things throughout the book aside from just polio as well, so it is a book many different people can connect with.

[Tracy Dishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

How this book did not end up on a bestsellers list or get better reviews on Goodreads is beyond me. Maybe it's my soft spot for memoirs but this book was a definite page turner.

After Martha Mason contracted polio that left her a quadriplegic and inside an iron lung for the next 61 years she decided to write her story. And write her story she did.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book fairly interesting, especially as someone who has never had any fear (or real knowledge) of polio. Having been born after it was eradicated in the United States, this period of history was pretty foreign to me. For someone who lived inside an iron lung, she did have a very full life...I wasn't particularly interested in it but it was certainly admirable and inspiring.

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in the time polio was a debilitating disease to be feared because of the potential of having to live in an iron lung. This is a story of a woman who lived her life...very fully...in an iron lung. Amazing.

[Larene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I must have a terribly short attention span because I skimmed and skipped half the book.
She's a fascinating person with a unique life experience and her ability to write this book while encased in an iron lung is amazing.

[Cori Macrae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful autobiography by a woman who lived in an Iron lung from the time she was 11 until her death at the age of 76.