Mother Teresa once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.” Reflect on that quote for a second. Imagine you knowing you are not wanted, not loved, abandoned. Our thoughts probably sway to someone who is homeless or kids left to fend for themselves. However, what about the child who physically has everything he/she wants but not the love and care that is needed to feel safe and secure…to feel wanted? For all the thoughts we may be thinking, have we ever considered a person feeling unwanted due to a disease or illness? Can we even fathom what it feels like to have a sickness that automatically excludes us from society?
Believe it or not, there are some in the world who are still experiencing this type of isolation – maybe due to deformities or handicaps or diseases. One such disease many of us have heard of is leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease – a disease that many (over 95% world-wide) have immunity to (and one in which there are medicines that can easily heal in just a matter of weeks). Although we are blessed to live in a time with medicines for leprosy, there is still the stigma attached to this disease. I came across an article that discussed the marginalization of those affected by leprosy in one of the hardest hit areas – India. There are individuals who are still stuck with the stigma that many of us grew up thinking.
Many of our misconceptions about leprosy stem from Scripture (Bible readings) – maybe when we were young or even possibly now. We read about Old Testament kings who were judged by God and struck with leprosy (note: some scholars believe the use of the term leprosy in the Old Testament may be the actual disease or any devastating skin affliction). We read about Jesus’s miraculous healings of those with leprosy (those who are totally isolated from society). I googled and found an article that stated the word “leprosy” is mentioned 55 times in the Old Testament and 13 times in the New Testament. I really didn’t think much about this until I re-read some of the references in the Bible then realized that leprosy (“skin disease”) seemed to be used as judgement by God. It was always in a negative light. However, when you read about it in the New Testament, it was about healing and faith. I asked someone at my church about this who said, “Leprosy in the Bible was a sign of judgment, but even better a picture of the comprehensiveness of our sin. So, when Jesus heals leprosy, it is actually a picture of salvation, of our sin being cleansed, making us “whiter than snow.”
I know what you are thinking? How does this have to do with the book? Well, this book is a historical fiction novel that gives a glimpse into the life of those in the United States who were isolated and sometimes abandoned by family for having leprosy, sent to an isolated (quarantined) place in Carville, Louisiana. Yes…there used to be a leper colony that would later be overseen by the U.S. government (article). It is an excellent read, one I loved. It gave a heartrending account of the physical struggles of those afflicted with this disease but also the emotional aspect of being isolated from the ones you love (and being totally abandoned).
Synopsis: (Amazon link)
Based on the true story of America’s only leper colony, The Second Life of Mirielle West brings vividly to life the Louisiana institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century.
For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease.
At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.
As a registered nurse, Amanda Skenandore’s medical background adds layers of detail and authenticity to the experiences of patients and medical professionals at Carville – the isolation, stigma, experimental treatments, and disparate community. A tale of repulsion, resilience, and the Roaring ‘20s, The Second Life of Mirielle West is also the story of a health crisis in America’s past, made all the more poignant by the author’s experiences during another, all-too-recent crisis.
Before I tell you what I really loved about this book, first let me say I HAVE read Neil White’s book “In the Sanctuary of the Outcasts.” This was the first time I had ever heard about the leper colony in Carville, LA. I actually had no clue that this book was about this particular place. I just downloaded it to read because it was free on Prime. Now, back to what I loved about this book…I loved the transformation of the main character!!!!! I really believe we all can see a little of ourselves in Mirielle West. And if you can’t, I would challenge us all to read this book and look deeper into our we perceive ourselves, especially to those around us. What impact do we make on those around us? What impression do we leave on those around us? More importantly, though, how do we perceive our trials and troubles? Are we angry at God for inflicting pain (leprosy? sickness? abandonment?) on us or do we perceive our problems as “light and momentary troubles [that] are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians:17). Ask yourself…how will God use your pain (physical or emotional) to further advance the Gospel? So I leave you with this…Psalm 23.
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in ipaths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
