All the Steps I Have Taken
Then and Now
by
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“I’m almost done. I’m almost there” these are the words I kept hearing Linda say as she was compiling the information for her one and only book. She has always wanted to put down her feelings in regard to her life with polio. This is a true story describing all the emotions, fear, pain, disappointments of a small child living every day with the effects of polio, a paralyzing disease that affected millions before a vaccine was developed in 1953. At the age of six months Linda was stricken with polio and has spent her life living as a “normal” person. Attaining all her goals set for herself she has lived an all-embracing life. She has pieced her life as a beautiful quilt with lots of color. “All the steps I have taken” will capture you from the beginning and hold you to the end.
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About the Book
As a six-month-old infant, Linda Christianson was diagnosed with poliomyelitis, a highly contagious disease that crippled thousands of children and adults before a vaccine became available in 1953. In her memoir, she now shares the intimate story of her struggle with the disease and of learning to approach her life in as normal a way as possible. She details the struggles that she faced growing up and the challenges that she handles each day of her life.
Because she contracted polio at such a young age, Linda was never able to enjoy the carefree childhood of skipping, dancing, and jumping that other children, including her sister, were able to experience. She had to learn how to live with her disease and to carve out a productive life for herself. Today, she approaches tasks with planning and much forethought. She works within the limitations of her disease but still finds joy and accomplishment in each day.
All the Steps I Have Taken presents the chronicle of her life, which has given her a magnificent family, a superlative set of friends with whom she shares her life, and her beloved home.
“…a remarkably moving story of one woman’s courage and resilience. It is a real inspiration for us all.”
—Barb Blome
“Anyone who has never been stricken with polio will give thanks for what they have been spared, yet may wonder why another is not so lucky. This story makes one realize how God works in their life through their adversity. It brings back the footprints in the sand quote “during your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you” “A true inspiration.”
—Vikki Wacek
About the Author
Linda Christianson grew up on the family farm in the Midwest. Her life has been made challenging by her contraction of polio as an infant. Linda currently lives in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota with her husband, Nolan. They have three children and eight grandchildren.