The Widening Circle: A Lyme Disease Pioneer Tells Her Story Book

The first person to focus attention on Lyme disease, Polly Murray tells the harrowing story of her early efforts to identify what was making her family so sick— and their battle with the illness over a twenty-year period.

In Lyme, Connecticut, in 1965, Polly Murray, her husband, and their four children led an almost picture-perfect life. But Polly began to be plagued by mysterious ailments, and as the rest of her family started to experience similar symptoms, she knew something was terribly wrong. When doctor after doctor failed to explain what was happening to them, Polly was forced to confront disbelief, lack of caring, and, eventually, apathy on the part of the medical establishment, all the while suffering herself. Her personal investigation into the cause of her family's illness, which became as passionate as a detective's, eventually initiated a medical investigation that led to the 1982 discovery by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer of the dangerous bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Polly tells her tale from the viewpoint of a patient who was a pioneer in the medical recognition of Lyme disease. Lyme disease remains a poorly diagnosed, controversial illness. Lyme victims and their families can take hope from Polly's courageous and inspiring story.