Martha Mason Story “Breath-A Lifetime in the Ryhthm of an Iron Lung” Reissued by Major Publisher

A recommended read for all boomers is the Martha Mason story, “Breath: A Lifetime in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung: A Memoir.

Reissued by a major publisher and with a foreword by novelist Anne Rivers Siddons, the memoir is the story of a one of a kind woman who was stricken with polio as a child and lived 61 years in an iron lung.

I can vaguely remember the pre polio vaccine days when the disease was running rampant and my mother would do every thing in her power to protect me from the virus.

Unfortunately for Martha Mason, she not only contracted the disease but lost her beloved brother to it when he was only 13. Yet, she vowed to live her life to the fullest and with the help of her family and community she graduated high school and went on to graduate first in her class from Wake Forest.

A native of North Carolina, Mason wrote her memoir on a voice activated computer.

When she died at 71, her obituary in the New York Times was noticed by an editor with Bloomsbury USA, Nancy Miller. Miller was able to find a copy of the out of print memoir mentioned in the obituary and fell in love with the “voice of” Martha Mason.

“We decided this would be a great book to reissue,” Miller said. In spite of the author’s paralysis, Miller felt Mason was more joyful about life than most people who weren’t disabled.

When she died in 2009, Mason was one of fewer than 20 people in the U.S. still living in iron lungs and one of the longest survivors.

After reading this remarkable Martha Mason story, “Breath: A Lifetime in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung: A Memoir,” you will be poignantly reminded how precious good health is and why we should never take it for granted.