Pandemic Influenza Storybook

Pandemic Influenza Storybook

Personal Recollections from Survivors, Families, and Friends

The CDC's Pandemic Flu Storybook provides readers with a look at the impact pandemic flu events have had on both survivors and the families and friends of non-survivors. These stories are not folklore, but personal recollections. This collection of stories was first released in 2008 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 1918 flu pandemic.

Storybook Topics

• I SURVIVED

  Survivors share their intimate recollections of either their own illness or that of a loved one.

• PLANTINGS

  Plantings — that is the way one storyteller described his job of hastily burying those who had died from the flu.

• AN IMMIGRANT'S TALE

  In addition to adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language, recent immigrants also had to cope with a deadly flu pandemic.

• 1957 FLU PANDEMIC

  The 1957 flu pandemic was deadly, but milder than the 1918 event.

• IN MEMORIAL

  The family stories described in this section define true courage amid unbearable loss.

• FINDING A CURE

  People tried a variety of methods to cure the sick — some practical and effective, others questionable and amusing.

• WAR STORIES

  Military personnel were greatly impacted by the virus and many young recruits were dead from the flu before they ever saw combat.

• STORIES BY STATE

  The collection of stories by those impacted by flu sorted by state for quick reference.