A Memoir of Polio, Perseverance, and the Family Ties That Defied History
In 1955, Bruce Dodd contracted polio, leaving him completely paralyzed and dependent on a respirator for the rest of his life. His four children were all under the age of seven.
What followed was not only a story of suffering, but of enduring love, quiet faith, and a family held together by a father who could no longer move, yet never stopped teaching them how to live.
For twenty-one years, much of it spent inside an iron lung, Bruce defied the limits of his body to become a devoted husband, a present father, and a steady source of strength. Through memories, reflections, and poetry, his son Douglas Dodd tells the story of a home shaped not by tragedy, but by perseverance, sacrifice, and the power of love to endure what cannot be changed.
As Douglas grows into adulthood—raising a daughter with Down syndrome and facing the possibility of paralysis himself—the lessons of his father’s life take on new meaning. This deeply personal memoir becomes a testament to acceptance, resilience, and the search for purpose in the face of overwhelming hardship.
For families living with disability, caregivers walking an uncertain road, and anyone who has wondered whether a meaningful life is still possible after everything changes, Our Father, Who Art in an Iron Lung offers hope, wisdom, and a profound reminder:
Even when life cannot be fixed, love can still carry us forward.
"Our Father, Who Art in an Iron Lung, a book-long love note to the necessary bridge between tragedy and perseverance, will captivate you. Douglas Dodd's storytelling is straightforward, skillfully navigating the circuitous path and circumstances of his boyhood spent as a caretaker to his paralyzed father. Having taken on responsibilities that most cannot imagine, these are likewise stories about the persistence and positivity with which Dodd has always travelled life. A carpenter by trade, Dodd constructs stories like one would a house built to sustain generations of life."
- Melissa Cundieff, author of Darling Nova
