Penny’s mother, Donna Felauer-Mullen, developed polio in 1940 at the age of three years old. The polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s. There were no resources for children with disabilities. Children were not encouraged to be a part of society as they are now encouraged to do so.
Appleton, Wisconsin — A powerful new memoir, My Wings Carried Me by Penny Mullen-Schweitzer, offers an intimate and unflinching look at life through the lens of a childhood polio diagnosis and the enduring spirit that followed. The book chronicles over eight decades of lived experience from the 1930s to the present, revealing not just the medical and societal challenges of disability but the love, laughter, and strength that transformed hardship into a legacy of grace.
In October of 1940, Donna was just a 3-year-old girl leaving her grandmother’s house when suddenly, she couldn’t move her legs, and they were abruptly paralyzed. In that moment, everything changed. But Donna, even as a child, made an unspoken promise to herself: this would not be the end of her story. It would be the beginning of a new one. She was determined to not let polio define her as a person.
My Wings Carried Me spans nearly a century, from rural Wisconsin in the 1930s to the world we live in today. Through it all, we see a woman who refuses to be defined by her disability. Hospital stays where children were not allowed to have visitors including their parents, surgeries, the sting of being overlooked or underestimated—Donna faced it all with a rare blend of grit and grace. When doctors told Donna that she was not going to make accomplishments in life due to her polio, Donna said, “Just watch me."
And yet, this isn’t just a book about hardship. It’s about resilience, joy, and the quiet victories that matter most. It’s about a little girl with a special doll—the first she’d ever seen with ears. It’s about a young woman entering the job market despite being told she would not be hired because she was disabled. The American Disabilities Act was passed on July 26, 1990. It’s about a woman crawling on the ground to paint the exterior portion of the family cottage. And it’s about the unforgettable boom-clunk of her crutches, echoing through the house as a reminder that Donna never let anything stop her.
The medical backdrop is there, too—important and humbling, from the breakthrough polio vaccine developed by US Physician Jonas Salk in the 1950s to the little-known physical and emotional challenges of post-polio syndrome later in life. But what shines brightest here is not the science. It’s the spirit.
Donna became a business owner, a wife, and a mother. She and her husband, Lavern, opened their home to foster children and, in time, adopted their daughter Penny. That mother-daughter bond is the heartbeat of this memoir—full of warmth, laughter, lessons, and the kind of love that leaves an imprint forever.
Penny writes with tenderness and honesty, celebrating not just her mother’s milestones but the everyday moments that made life so rich. A cozy cottage in Pickerel, Wisconsin. The holiday traditions that brought everyone together. A marriage that lasted nearly seventy years. Donna’s story reminds us that even the most “ordinary” lives are anything but.
My Wings Carried Me also invites readers to reflect on bigger questions—about how society treats people with disabilities, how women shape the fabric of family life, and how true courage often unfolds quietly, away from the spotlight.
This memoir is more than a personal history. It’s a tribute to love, to determination, and to the idea that a meaningful life is made not in spite of challenges but through them.
Whether you’ve lived through similar trials or are simply looking for a story to warm your heart and stir your soul, this book offers both comfort and inspiration. Donna Felauer-Mullen didn’t just live with polio. She soared—on wings forged by strength, love, and unwavering resolve.
My Wings Carried Me is available now wherever books are sold.
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Sources:
A crippling and life-threatening disease
https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-polio-vaccination
Ideas: No American Disability Act –
https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/ada
Signed on 26 July 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was the world's first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
