Neil White had it made. He had a beautiful family, lovely home, and fancy cars, all afforded to him by his career as a magazine publisher and journalist. Eventually the price of the luxe life caught up with him, and he schemed and cheated just to keep up appearances. It seemed a small offence, but his world was turned upside down when the FBI caught him kiting checks.
Neil was sent to a low security prison in Carville Louisiana. Little did he know that this isolated prison also served as a leper colony, where all known cases of leprosy in the US were quarantined. Of course, when he realized that "patients" also resided at Carville he had the same reaction that every other ignorant prisoner had—horror struck him. He didn't want to see them, be near them, or even breathe the same air as them. However, like any avaricious intellectual, he couldn't stand to waste his days in prison, so he found work...and the work led him to the lepers.
Here, Neil met Ella, a kind-hearted African American double amputee who contracted leprosy as a child and had been "incarcerated" in Carville for most of her eighty years. Ultimately, his relationship with Ella allowed him to refocus. He violated the "no socializing" policy to spend hours talking to her and other patients, as well as watch them truly enjoy life for what it was. He rediscovered the simple things in life—friends, trust, compassion. Although his marriage crumbled and he lost his wealth, he was released feeling like he had a new lease on life.
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts is an eye-opening memoir laden with heartache, humor, and hope.
