The Woman With The Cure By Lynn Cullen

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

about book: (summary from Goodreads)

She gave up everything— and changed the world.

A riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic, from the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe.

In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god.

But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor –often the only woman in the room--she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood.

This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine—and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.

my thoughts:

The Woman With The Cure by Lynn Cullen is a MUST-READ for everyone! It's an important story about an amazing woman named Dorothy Horstmann, M.D. and her discovery of the cure for polio. Yep, this book is all about women in the medical field during the 1940s and 1950s and it is awesome! Based on a true story, Cullen writes about the pandemic that was terrifying the world at the time: polio.  She writes about the race for the cure and how men were competing to be considered the 'god' who found the cure. All the while, Dorothy, was determined to find the cure to save lives. And, so she worked hard and contributed her discoveries along the way, which helped formulate the cure for polio; all the while never getting the recognition she so rightly deserved and earned. She was a woman working in a predominantly male field and it was difficult, unfair, and filled with sexism.  And yet, she always kept her eyes on the prize: to help and heal patients. 

Cullen has written a smart and thought-provoking story using history as her anchor to share all about the woman who made the cure for polio possible. I really enjoyed the way she blended fact with fiction, making the story such a captivating read right from the start. I found myself immediately immersed and intrigued by this part of history I had never heard of. Talk about historical fiction at its very best!

I would definitely recommend The Woman With The Cure to fans of Cullen and to everyone looking for their next great read- you are going to LOVE this book! Make sure to get your hands on a copy ASAP!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!