New book seeks to uplift readers, inspire hope

New book seeks to uplift readers, inspire hope
Author recounts living with polio in ‘Fleeing Polio on Wings’

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – At the age of 3, author and artist Barbara Ker-Mann felt her wings clipped. Diagnosed with infantile paralysis – polio – she was hospitalized feeling lonely and frightened because even her parents and siblings could not visit her.

Ker-Mann’s new memoir, “Fleeing Polio on Wings: like the Eagle” (published by Balboa Press AU), chronicles her journey from age 3 (1936) to 1995 when, following her husband’s death, she attended conferences in Freemantle, Australia, and Melbourne and took art lessons in Japan before visiting the Sun City of Kitami.

Having polio compelled Ker-Mann to seek other ways to express herself. When she first heard the words of Isaiah 40: 31 at 4, she felt her spirit lift. Later, the violin would become her avenue of self-expression and a lifeline as she faced other challenges related to polio.

In 1983, her passion for teaching violin by the Suzuki Method was realized when she was made International Fellow of the American Association of University Women, and enabled to research a master’s thesis under instruction from Dr. Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan.

Uplifting and inspiring, “Fleeing Polio on Wings” recounts Ker-Mann’s travels through Europe and Asia and imparts some of the wisdom she gained as an artist, traveler and mother. Ker-Mann hopes her book will serve as an “inspiration to appreciate the spiritual needs of children – as well as good care for their body and mind.”

ENDS

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