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The

POLIO

HOLE

The story of the illness that changed America

SHELLEY FRASER MICKLE

Copyright 2012 Shelley Mickle,

All rights reserved.

Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

http://www.eBookIt.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1277-1

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

PRAISE FOR THE POLIO HOLE:

“The Polio Hole is a vividly told, heartwarming account of Shelley Fraser Mickle’s childhood battle with the dread scourge of polio, set artfully in counterpoint with the ultimately successful medical search for an effective preventive vaccine.Written with grace and humor, totally free of self-pity, this is a story to cherish and remember.”

–Louis D. Rubin, Jr., Literary critic and historian, editor and novelist, author or editor of more than fifty books, recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award, charter member of The Fellowship of Southern Writers, esteemed figure in American letters for more than four decades

“ This story of a determined child’s fight to beat polio’s debilitating breakdown of her body is Shelley’s own. We share the sights and sounds as Shelley reveals her awakening sensitivities to everything from family dynamics to race relations. She weaves into this an account of the scientific and personal competition that occurred between Salk and Sabin as they developed their vaccines to prevent polio. Readers will develop an increased awareness of how the poliovirus affects the body and how vaccines work, as well as an appreciation of how disability can actually become enabling.”

– Parker A. Small Jr. MD, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida College of Medicine, Charter Member, National Vaccine Advisory Committee, National Medical School Basic Science Teacher of the Year Awardee

“Shelley Fraser Mickle’s memoir, The Polio Hole, is a wonderfully, informative narrative reminding us of a time when America was momentarily paralyzed with fear for its children and subsequently mobilized by mothers to defeat the epidemic of polio in America. Beautifully expressed, intertwining Shelley’s personal experience with polio and the race to find a vaccine, The Polio Hole is a must read. Donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book, Shelley joins Rotary International as it works to ‘close the final inch’ to eradicate polio from the face of the earth.”

–Tony Domenech, President Rotary Club of Gainesville, Florida, District 6970

“Contrasting the voice of her own child-self with that of a journalist or historian, Shelley Fraser Mickle chronicles the frightening polio era. A prime example of the old rule that writers should write what they know, she introduces a largely unknown plague through her own descent into the Polio Hole. Those who know her will assert that the child’s voice is authentic; she still has the spunk of that six-year-old!”

–Marilyn Bishop Shaw, Reading Specialist and author of Soloman

TEL: 352.213.5740 • WWW.WILDONIONPRESS.COM

PRAISE FOR SHELLEY FRASER MICKLE’S PREVIOUS BOOKS:

REPLACING DAD - (A l999 CBS Movie)

“Quirky and likable characters amuse and engage the reader.”

—New York Times Book Review

“Mickle’s easy, forthright style transforms a familiar tale into winning fiction.”

—Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly

THE QUEEN OF OCTOBER - (A New York Times Notable Book)

“This is a remarkable first novel, bursting with warmth, Shelley Mickle achieves a great deal more than laughter. She succeeds in creating characters the reader grows to love.”

—Chicago Tribune

“Impressive.”

—The New York Times Book Review

THE KIDS ARE GONE; THE DOG IS DEPRESSED & MOM’S ON THE LOOSE

“Shelley is the consummate storyteller. She presents each piece with a delightful sense of humor, yet the core of her stories illuminates some basic aspect of the human condition.”

—Henry Pensis, WUFT, NPR, Station Manager

THE TURNING HOUR

“What you will ultimately take away from (this novel) is a greater appreciation of the things you love about your own life.”

—Amy Auguston, Redbook Magazine’s Editors’ Picks for Fall 2001

THE ASSIGNED VISIT

“This believable and complex story has stayed with me long after the surprising and gratifying ending.”

—Cassandra King, author of Making Waves, The Sunday Wife, and The Same Sweet Girls

BARBARO, AMERICA’S HORSE

“I will be shocked if another book brings you truly as close to Barbaro as this one.”

—Richard D. Coreno, Berea, Ohio, Amazon Reviewer

For the world’s stolen childhoods, with thanks to Rotary International for their passionate dedication to burying the Polio Hole, worldwide.

Also by Shelley Fraser Mickle

NOVELS:

The Queen of October

Replacing Dad

The Turning Hour

The Assigned Visit

RADIO ESSAYS:

The Kids Are Gone; The Dog Is Depressed & Mom’s on the Loose

NONFICTION:

Barbaro, America’s Horse (for ages 9-12)

Parts of this memoir were heard as a commentary on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, titled Six and Sick as a Dog, on the anniversary of the Salk Vaccine, April 12, 2006.

Author’s Note

I wrote this mostly to get back at Ol’ Tennessee Williams for making that girl in The Glass Menagerie so pitiful she couldn’t get a boyfriend. But also to preserve a cultural history that is about to be lost. Since this is the story of one ordinary mind reacting to an unexpected, life-changing event, it can also say a good bit about who we are at the bottom of ourselves. It just happens to be my mind.

As for the wondrous story of the race for the vaccine that ended a national nightmare, one can gain deeper understanding from David Oshinsky’s Polio, An American Story. My distillation of what Mr. Oshinsky has given us is merely an attempt to place my experience on the rim of medical history and, in so doing, give a guided tour into the world of science, the workshop of miracles.

Shelley Fraser Mickle

Winter, 2008