In the 1920's America's only "leper colony" was in Carville, Louisiana. Leprosy at the time was still misunderstood, considered highly contagious and reason to force those suffering from it out of society and into the prison like confines of the Carville hospital and residence. Enter Mirielle West, troubled mother of two and wife of a Hollywood personality whose career could not stand the stigma of a wife with leprosy. Her gruesome journey from one LA to another LA, the courage of the people she encounters at Carville and the true science and history of the disease form the bones of the story. She finds friendship, a purpose and even love in the most unlikely of places. Not very sophisticated writing but the characters are engaging and historical fiction never ceases to surprise me with people and places I never knew existed.
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