Fiction, The Ramp is loosely built upon Ms. Dronen's childhood memories; she tells the poignant story of how one small-town family coped with the crippling effects of the polio virus that swept through Western Washington in the early 1940's. Unforgettable characters, wrestling with fear, shame and prejudice, even within the family, dig deep into guilt, love, courage and the honesty needed to continue life after devastation.