In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

This was indeed an extremely interesting book. Neil, the author and convicted 'kitting' criminal, is sentenced to 18 months at the Fed Pen in Carville, Louisiana. What he finds out when he reports to the facility is that it is also the last leper sanitarium in the United States ... the convicts and lepers are not supposed to intermingle but that rule is barely enforced; those afflicted with leprosy see the convicts as trespassers in their home. Determined to make the best of his time, the author fastidiously keeps a journal of his time, of the stories told to him, and his relationships. The relationships that most impact his life are those of the lepers, although his cell mate and couple of convicts do leave an imprint on his life. As the book progresses so does the transformation that changes his life as he recognizes that life is not about the material things we possess so much as the enduring quality of our relationships. Of course, most of those who formerly knew him, at one point even his wife, begin to desert him, he clings to his relationship with his two kids and his parents, knowing that once he is released former friends and business mates are lost forever but that he can forge new relationships built on a firm foundation. Eventually the government plans to turn the whole facility into a prison, but adverse things begin to happen and reality makes the government backtrack on its plans, and the sanitarium is saved as the home of the lepers. Finally the time comes when Neil is about to be released .... here I would like to quote from the book to give you an idea of how much those with leprosy influenced his life, especially Ella. "Most of all I wanted to remember Ella. Every detail. The way she cranked the antique handles, the way she twisted in her chair at the dance. The way she turned her disease, the most shameful known to man, into something sacred. I wanted to remember how she held her coffee mug, the way she got excited on bingo night, her smile when she said something unexpected, the joy she found in the smallest encounters, the way her skin smelled like flowers. The way she rested her hand on top of mine when I felt most alone. I wanted to remember her every word. I wanted to remember her especially whenever I was confronted with my past, in hopes that I could face it with a fraction of her dignity. I would take Ella's advice and find a church. Not just any church. A place like the church at Carville. Where the parishoners were broken and chipped and cracked. A place to go when I needed help. A place to ask forgiveness. A sacred place where people were not consumed with image or money. I didn't know if a church like this existed, but if it did I would go .. and I would pray. Not the kind of prayers I used to say for miracles or money or advancement. I would ask for something more simple. I would pray for recollection - pray that I would never forget." I would love to write about Ella, but I won't - you'll have to read the book ... but she could easily have become the focus of this book, just as she was the focal point of the author's transformation; I would love to write about the priest and how worshiping with lepers began to give the author a spiritual awareness he had never had the time for before Carville, but I won't, you'll have to read the book. This is a short book of a few hundred pages, but there are many helpful insights and interviews in the back.
A major lesson of the book, is that no matter how dreary our lives may become there is always a reason to stop and smell a rose.
IN THE SANCTUARY OF OUTCASTS. by Neil White[His first book] HarperCollins Publishers,
New York, NY, 2009 ENJOY!