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zoefruitcake's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after it was mentioned in the TB episode of This Podcast Will Kill You. I didn't find it as funny as the readers seemed to have back when it was published in 1948 but then they had just got through the war and everything must have seemed funny (just kidding). What it is is an interesting journey through a year of being in a sanitorium and the realities of living with TB at a time when treatment didn't include antibiotics. The most informative part was when it was explained exactly how and why complete bed rest, silence and fresh air helped. My stepfather had TB as a child and had to go to such a place for 2 years, now I feel I have a little more understanding of what he must have gone through at that time.
mharrison13's review
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.5
What a fascinating look at what it’s like in a T.B. ward!
vll295's review
4.0
We live in a much different world now! This book takes us back to the times of the Great Depression and what was going on in the author's world. This book however is not depressing. The author shares humor about her situation.
As you guys may know one of my favorite authors, Ann M. Martin recently redid one of the Miss Piggle Wiggle books and I really enjoyed that. The books were written by Betty McDonald, author of the first book and so many more.
This is another book narrated by the talented Heather Henderson. I feel like she does a good job of capturing the elements of the story and bringing them to life.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.
As you guys may know one of my favorite authors, Ann M. Martin recently redid one of the Miss Piggle Wiggle books and I really enjoyed that. The books were written by Betty McDonald, author of the first book and so many more.
This is another book narrated by the talented Heather Henderson. I feel like she does a good job of capturing the elements of the story and bringing them to life.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.
meghan111's review
3.0
Great book to read when you have a cold or are feeling a bit under the weather. The Plague and I chronicles the year Betty MacDonald spent in a tuberculosis sanatorium in Seattle in the late 1930s. It contains descriptions of coughing, boredom, and outdated nursing practices. The patients were always miserable because the windows were left open 24 hours a day, and when it rained the sheets would be damp and cold. Betty Macdonald is spirited and has a good sense of humor, making this fun to read.
themartinmama's review against another edition
4.0
I just finished reading the memoir by famous Seattle local, Betty MacDonald, The Plague and I (she is also the author of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books and several others too) about her time in a Seattle sanitarium with Tuberculosis about 80 years ago. And compared to being locked in a sanitarium for 1 year to an indefinite amount unable to see your kids, cold with windows always open and not enough blankets, not allowed to be in the sun much if at all, being told to lie down most of the day, getting random drugs and random surgeries/treatments, etc then yeah, masking up while waiting for a vaccine in COVID times is much preferred for me!
Stay home and if you can't always, wear a mask!
Stay home and if you can't always, wear a mask!
suesviews's review against another edition
4.0
Betty MacDonald's sense of humor comes through once again in this compelling book. After her escapades with the chicken farm in the Egg and I, she moved with her daughters to the Seattle area, and contracts Tuberculosis. In this book she shares her experience in the public sanitorium during her treatment and subsequent recovery. She maintained her wry sense of humor throughout. She tells of the losses of friends and the struggle with forced immobility with grace and wit.
19paws's review against another edition
5.0
I still get the giggles remembering certain passages from this book. Betty MacDonald is better known for her memoir of life on a chicken farm—-The Egg and I--on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula. The Plague and I chronicles her experience as a patient in a tuberculosis sanitarium in the late 1930s. That doesn't sound very amusing, but it is indeed a very funny book and a fascinating peek into how TB was treated at that time. This is on my list of all-time favorite books.