Sister Kenny: The woman who invented herself

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Elizabeth Kenny, better known as Sister Kenny, was a household name in Australia and America during the 1940s. Kenny’s campaign to transform the treatment of the paralysis caused by polio attracted derision from medical professionals whilst earning her the unwavering admiration of her patients and their families. Sister Kenny was loved and loathed in equal measure. Today, she is an all but forgotten figure. The story of Elizabeth Kenny’s discovery of her controversial polio therapy is one of the great medical legends of the twentieth century.

Allan Hildon uses personal insights and a forensic examination of historical archives to peel away the fabrication and deception which Kenny used to create a personal legend that gave a purpose to her life whilst bestowing a gift to humanity. The portrait of Kenny which emerges in this unconventional biography is more nuanced, more flawed, and more human than the caricature of a selfless nurse which she helped to create. This book reveals that the ultimate source of Kenny’s concept of polio and its treatment was her invention of herself.