Not Just Polio: My Life Story

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-06
Summary: "Not Just Polio: My Life Story by Richard Daggett"

I have known Richard for over twenty years since I became a member of the Rancho Los Amigos Post-Polio Support Group in Downey CA. His autobiography shows how Polio can change your life forever but with a strong will and perseverance you can change it for the best and Richard is such a person, he opted not to let Polio take over his life but rather to be of service to others not only Polio Survivors but to the community in general.
I normally do not read a book more than once but this one is an exception, this is a tour of a beautiful life, this is a feel-good reading, and is a most read not just for polio survivors but their care givers, family and friends. Thank you Richard for sharing.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-02
Summary: "The Boy Across the Street"

My family and I lived across the street from Richard Daggett in Downey when he contracted polio. The early 1950's were a frightful time for all parents who lived in fear of that dreaded disease. This book accurately depicts that era from the viewpoint of someone who lived through it and went on to have a rewarding and active life, despite his disability.

He gives a very clearheaded account of the many procedures that were done to him and relates the psychological insensitivities he had to endure in a matter-of-fact way. He has a great fondness for the people at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital and feels, rightly so I think, that without their care and knowledge of polio, he would surely have died early on in the course of his disease. He remains in close partnership with Rancho to this day.

It was particularly interesting for me to read his description of what Downey, CA (and our street in particular) looked like before the orange groves were removed and tract houses went up. Since I'm seven years younger than Richard, his recollections are a lot clearer than mine are. As he says, it truly was a great place to be a kid.

I'm so glad he made this effort to record his life experiences, both the good and the bad. He really is a remarkable person and I feel honored to have known him.

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-07-01
Summary: "More than an illness."

Imagine that you wake up in a huge metal tank, with just your head exposed. A few hours before, you were a healthy and active thirteen year old. Imagine that you spend nearly six months confined to this mammoth steel cylinder, and another two years in a hospital.

Now, try to imagine how you would react. How would you cope? Richard Daggett, the author of this well-written autobiography, takes you, step by step, through this life altering experience.

But this book is more than the story of illness and hospitals. It is a recollection of life in the America of the 1940s and 50s. This was the time of black and white television, of kids playing together on the front lawn, and moms waiting to greet us when we got home from school.

I recommend this autobiography for its history of life in a less hectic era, and its honest depiction of how illness and disability can change a person's life.

The author concludes the book with introspection and tributes to those who helped him through his journey. Reading through the text, and browsing the many photographs, lifted my spirits in ways that I hadn't expected. The author does not like to be called an inspiration, but I hope he won't mind if I call his book inspirational.