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I was born in Rochester, New York, in 1943. I came from a musician's family. I now live in St. Simons Island, Georgia and am a husband, father, grandfather and a scientist. I met my wife, Jane, while we were in school. Jane was an excellent French teacher for many years. She helped me get through the scientific French requirement for my PhD! We have a son, John, who is a professor at the University of Wisconsin, and two grandsons, Conrad and Isaiah. At the age of nine, I contracted the polio virus, which destroyed many of the nerves in my legs and, in turn, the muscles innervated by them. Today, though the disease itself is long gone, I still have physical problems as a direct result of paralytic polio and now from post-polio syndrome. I graduated from Fordham University (chemistry and philosophy) in 1966 and received a PhD in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1971. After a career spanning over thirty years in various industries (engineer in a paper mill, marketing/technical service director and research vice president), in 2001, I retired from a position as research director of a chemicals and minerals firm.
There is no doubt that polio shaped me in many ways and is the principle topic of my memoir.
It took me about two years to write this memoir. Besides the family chronology, I reacquainted myself with many friends who I have not had contact with for some years...this was a real joy. I also got to know myself better, and preparing this memoir, has, despite my post-polio syndrome challenges, brought me inner peace. Many neighbors and local friends did not know about my early years. This has led to some fun conversations. Finally, writing a book is far different than writing a research report. It was a very steep learning curve for me and was a real treasure, most of the time, to experience.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Three Quick Steps: An Inspiring Account of Struggle and Recovery is a memoir written by Robert Emmett. Emmett was your typical kid living in the early 1950s until he contracted polio at the age of nine. It was paralytic polio, a severe form of the disease, and it left him nearly paralyzed. He was fortunate in having an unusually supportive and caring network of medical professionals, friends and family who helped him get past the surgeries and painful physical therapy sessions and become physically active again. Emmett was able to go back to school for eighth grade after several years of home tutoring. After high school, he matriculated at Fordham University and went on to earn a doctorate in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Robert Emmett's autobiographical account, Three Quick Steps: An Inspiring Account of Struggle and Recovery, is awe-inspiring and humbling all at once. When I was growing up, polio vaccines were one of those dreaded inoculations that occurred at the beginning of school terms. The actual disease, and its impact on the lives of the patients and their families, was something I was fortunate enough never to find out about. The author never lapses into bitterness or self-pity, even as he relates how an afternoon's fun and play in the lake forever changed his life. His memoir is simply and beautifully written, and I felt throughout that he was there in the room telling me his story -- and that story is a remarkable one indeed. Three Quick Steps: An Inspiring Account of Struggle and Recovery is most highly recommended.
