Martha Mason (writer)
Encyclopedia
Martha Mason was a writer born and based in Lattimore, North Carolina
.
, in which she remained for her entire life. She preferred the iron lung to newer ventilators as it didn't require intubation
, surgery, or hospitalization.
She completed high school with daily visits from her teachers, and graduated first in her class with highest honors.
Mason moved to Boiling Springs with her parents to enroll in Gardner-Webb College
(now University), earning an associate's degree at age 21. She then attended (again with her parents' accompaniment) Wake Forest College
(also now University), earning a bachelor's degree in English in 1960. She was first in her classes at both colleges.
After her education, Mason returned to Lattimore and started work at a local newspaper; her mother took dictation of her work. Shortly after, her father was incapacitated by a heart attack
and her mother was unable to assist her in her work.
.
This latter factor was particularly significant for Mason. While her highly social and independent lifestyle (she hosted dinner parties and managed her own household, for example) would probably have only been possible in a tight-knit community (Lattimore's current population is approximately 400), her broad interests were not in tune with small-town perspectives.
She wrote a memoir, Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung, which was published in 2003. She was also the subject of Martha in Lattimore (2005), a documentary film
by Mary Dalton. Mason also appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary about polio The Final Inch
(2009).
Lattimore, North Carolina
Lattimore is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 419 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lattimore is located at ....
.
Early life
Afflicted with polio at age 11, Mason was sent home from the hospital in an iron lungIron lung
A negative pressure ventilator is a form of medical ventilator that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability....
, in which she remained for her entire life. She preferred the iron lung to newer ventilators as it didn't require intubation
Intubation
Tracheal intubation, usually simply referred to as intubation, is the placement of a flexible plastic or rubber tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway or to serve as a conduit through which to administer certain drugs...
, surgery, or hospitalization.
She completed high school with daily visits from her teachers, and graduated first in her class with highest honors.
Mason moved to Boiling Springs with her parents to enroll in Gardner-Webb College
Gardner-Webb University
Gardner–Webb University is a private university located west of Charlotte in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, USA. The school has a total of 14 academic departments offering 45 major fields of study. Among the most popular of the school's 39 undergraduate majors are those in business , education ,...
(now University), earning an associate's degree at age 21. She then attended (again with her parents' accompaniment) Wake Forest College
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
(also now University), earning a bachelor's degree in English in 1960. She was first in her classes at both colleges.
After her education, Mason returned to Lattimore and started work at a local newspaper; her mother took dictation of her work. Shortly after, her father was incapacitated by a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and her mother was unable to assist her in her work.
Later life
Mason returned to writing in the mid 1990s when advancements in voice recognition technology enabled her to operate a computer on her own, giving her the ability to dictate and edit, as well as to browse the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
This latter factor was particularly significant for Mason. While her highly social and independent lifestyle (she hosted dinner parties and managed her own household, for example) would probably have only been possible in a tight-knit community (Lattimore's current population is approximately 400), her broad interests were not in tune with small-town perspectives.
She wrote a memoir, Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung, which was published in 2003. She was also the subject of Martha in Lattimore (2005), a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Mary Dalton. Mason also appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary about polio The Final Inch
The Final Inch
The Final Inch is a short documentary about the effort to eradicate polio. It was directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky and focuses on health workers who are on the front lines of the fight to eliminate the disease....
(2009).