The Woman with the Cure

Praise

“The Woman with the Cure is a scrupulously researched history lesson wrapped up in a modern exploration of the evolving role women have played in society. Dorothy Horstmann and her contemporaries deserve their place in America’s medical hall of fame and Lynn Cullen’s resurrection has done them justice.”
—Atlanta Journal Constitution

“Everyone knows Sabin and Salk created the polio vaccine, but without the work of Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, there never would have been a vaccine in the first place. So huge applause to The Woman With the Cure for bringing Dorothy’s brilliant work to the forefront—and for reminding us that women have always been in science—despite those who would pretend otherwise.”
—Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

“In The Woman with the Cure, Lynn Cullen illuminates the story of Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, a scientist who was instrumental in discovering the polio vaccine. Through meticulous research and elegant prose, Cullen pens an important and timely story of one of the previously unheard voices of medical history in the race to cure a pandemic and the result is a rewarding read that both enlightens and entertains.”
—Pam Jenoff, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Woman with the Blue Star
 
“With emotional honesty and prose that rings with lyrical detail, Lynn Cullen expertly takes us back to the world where polio slays our children and a pandemic places us in isolation. Cullen shows us who we might be without the genius of women who are willing to put it all on the line for a cure. From behind the eyes and heart of a woman determined to save a generation of children by hunting down a cure, The Woman With the Cure is an enlightening and immersive read. Working against time and mystery, Dr. Dorothy Horstmann must not only battle the mysterious virus but also a system that can’t bear a woman at its center. Dorothy’s scientific imagination shook the medical community, and Lynn Cullen’s re-imagining of her life and work is powerful, visionary and inspired.”
—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Bestselling Author of Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis

“The warm and wonderful The Woman with the Cure, brings brilliantly to life the story of the real Dorothy Horstmann, whose extraordinary discovery made possible the vaccines that ended the polio pandemic of the 1940s and 50s. Lynn Cullen’s novel deftly breaks down the science and brilliantly delivers a complex cast of characters in a compelling page-turner of a novel about the race for the cure to that pandemic, and pulls from the shadows of history this extraordinary woman who literally changed our world. I could not put this astounding story down.”
—Meg Waite Clayton, international bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris

“Lynn Cullen shows off her mastery of the craft in a thrilling and heart-wrenching tale about the race to eradicate polio. We meet Salk, Sabine, and the countless other figures who worked together—and sometimes against one another—to save lives. We also meet mothers, wives, and other women whose sacrifices enabled progress. But at the center of the story is Dorothy Horstmann, the brilliant but unheralded American heroine who charted her own course with one clear goal in mind: saving lives. And it was her discovery that enabled the vaccines. This timely and important novel will touch you, inspire you, and leave you with a sense of hope about what dedicated scientists can achieve.”
—Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of The Women of Chateau Lafayette

“In The Woman With the Cure, Lynn Cullen gives us a meticulous and engaging account of Dorothy Horstmann, another woman whose accomplishments have been overshadowed by men. Without Dorothy’s determination and courage there would be no vaccine for polio, and in this engrossing, timely read, we finally know how much she and so many other women like her sacrificed in order to accomplish the impossible. HERstory at its finest.”
—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Aviator’s Wife and The Children’s Blizzard

“In this all-engrossing and poignant historical novel, Lynn Cullen expertly brings this unsung heroine’s story to the forefront with her portrayal of a fearless woman whose accomplishments largely eclipsed those of her male colleagues and helped save a generation of children. The research that must have gone into this novel is mindboggling and yet Cullen delivers it with the skill of a masterful storyteller. I was rooting for Dorothy the whole way through. Her journey will inspire and stay with readers long after the last page is turned.”
—Renee Rosen, USA Today Bestselling author of The Social Graces