Hannah Wunsch traces the origins of intensive care units and mechanical ventilation back to the polio epidemic. Without these innovations, the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic would have been even higher. Through compelling testimony from doctors, nurses, medical students and patients, Wunsch explores how the polio epidemic revolutionized modern medical care.

When you can read it: May 9, 2023

Hannah Wunsch is a critical care physician and researcher at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She is a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Toronto and a Canada Research Chair. The Autumn Ghost is her first book