Book Review: The Second Life of Mirielle West

Long ago, I read Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand's book, The Gift Nobody Wants (otherwise titled, The Gift of Pain). Ever since, I have wanted to explore leprosy more. This affliction, where patients do not feel the healthy warning signals of pain, goes all the way back to the Bible. Jesus cared for and healed lepers. Despite the outcry against them, despite public stigma, Christ met them where they were and didn't hesitate to touch their wounds.

The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore tells the story of a California socialite shipped to the Carville leper colony in the 1920s. Her first telltale sign is a burn from an iron. She didn't feel the pain. Upon a doctor's inspection, the white patches of skin identified her as a leper. Aptly titled, this book highlights the difference between her first life (filled with the sorrows of a lost child, depression, and alcoholism) and her second life (lived in isolation at the national leprosarium).

According to The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, Carville was in operation between 1894 and 2005. Amanda Skenandore presents an engaging historical fiction based on the facts and details of both the dreaded disease and the imposed isolation. My heart ached for the children and adults forced into residence at Carville. Simultaneously, I respected the nurses and doctors who worked tirelessly to ease the patients' suffering and to seek a cure for leprosy. This is a tale worth visiting and one worth discussing in a book club.