In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

This memoir In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White tells of the his experiences as an inmate in an American federal prison which also served as the country's national leprosarium. Neil gets to know some of the lepers and becomes fond of them, even though they are supposed to be segregated. This prison at Carville on the Mississippi River has housed lepers for over 100 years. At first the prison was a huge culture shock to the author as he had lived a lavish lifestyle on other people's money and by his own admission had let down a lot of people when it all came crashing down. His prison term is a journey of self-discovery as he learns many lessons about life from people he would have least expected to learn from. He tells us some of the history of the disease and how those afflicted were treated by society. Carville is now a museum - see web site. Very interesting read. 4/5