In the Sanctuary of Outcasts (28 page)
Read In the Sanctuary of Outcasts Online
Authors: Neil White
I cannot begin to thank all the people who helped me with this book until I apologize to those I hurt. My deepest apology and sincere regret to Leo, George, and the fine people at Hancock Bank; to Chevis and the Peoples Bank; to my childhood friend William Weatherly; to Joe Casano, who was there to lend a hand; to my bankers, Alan and David; and to Bill Metcalf, who tried to give me a fresh start. I also apologize to a long line of investors who believed in me and lost, especially Elwood, Bill, Gerald, Margaret, William, Sherman, Ernest, Catherine, and Sarah, and to all the other lenders, vendors, advertisers, subscribers, business associates, freelance writers and photographers, and friends I hurt. And a most sincere apology to the loyal and committed employees who believed my promises. I am so sorry.
This book is not mine. It is a collective effort of hundreds of friends who took an interest in the story, including Colby Kullman, Christopher Schager, Larry Kadlec, and Cathey Riemann. Thanks for your early enthusiasm for the work. Thanks also go to the following:
To Pamela Massey, who gave me my first job out of prison. To Ken and JoAnn for giving me a place to stay until I found my footing. To Will and Patty Lewis for opening doors. To Anne Strand for listening. To Duncan for leading the Wednesday night services at the church I’d been hoping to find. To Taylor, Ollie, and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, for everything. And to the good people of Oxford
for being more forgiving than I had ever imagined. There really is no place like home.
To everyone who helped with research, fact-checking, and archival images, Tanya Thomassie, Cassandra White, Kris Gilliland, Paul Johansen, Vern Evans, Ken Murphy, and Terri Fensel. To Marcia Gaudet, Tony Gould, and Zachary Gussow for writing great books about Carville and leprosy. To Dr. James Krahenbuhl, director of the National Hansen’s Disease Program, who helped me better understand an extraordinarily complex disease, and Elizabeth Schexnyder, curator of the National Hansen’s Disease Museum, who assisted in navigating the even more complicated culture and history of Carville. To Anwei Law and IDEA as well as José Ramirez and
The Star
for your opinions and notes on nomenclature. To all my inmate friends who were just too normal to be included in this book and, of course, to the residents of Carville for their generous storytelling.
To my great readers, Karen Bryant, Mary Ann Reed Bowen, Susannah Northart, Margaret Seicshnaydre, Linda, Julie, Tor, Priscilla, Scott, Debbie and Randy, Cheryl and Cory, Liz and Jamie, and the Oxford essayists group. To my writing teachers, Cully Randall, David Galef, Darcy Steinke, Steve Yarbrough, Romulus Linney, Marcia Norman, Tom Franklin, Dinty W. Moore, Lee Gutkind, and most especially Barry Hannah, my friend and tennis pal, who showed me the way when I finally had something to say.
To Carroll Chiles for keeping the store.
To Max and Carrie for Crow’s Nest.
To my agent Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management, who recognized the possibilities, waited patiently, and gently nudged me along.
To the wonderful people at William Morrow/HarperCollins for believing in this story, especially Lisa Gallagher for her enthusiasm and Laurie Chittenden for her vision, insight, and patience. The book wouldn’t be the same without you. Also to Tavia Kowalchuk for your marketing brilliance, and Seale Ballenger and Ben Bruton for your invaluable publicity work. Also to Stella Connell of The Connell Agency.
To my stepmother, Jill, who was sane in the crazy years.
To Linda Peal for her forgiveness and friendship.
To my strange, wonderful, loyal mother, Jane Stanley, who is best when times are worst. To my father, Neil White Jr., a private man, for supporting me always, especially in this public confession. To Lindsay, for laughing at whatever I do and welcoming the three of us into a new family. To my wife, Debbie, a remarkable partner, editor, and friend who stepped in where Ella left off. To Little Neil and Maggie. They say parenting is a one-way street, but that’s not true for us. Your innocent love while “Daddy was in camp” kept it from all falling apart.
To Judge Walter Gex for holding me accountable.
Elwood, Julia, ed.
Carville…100 Years: Carville Centennial Celebration 1894–1994
. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1994.
———.
With Love in Their Hearts
:
The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul 1896–1996
. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.
Gaudet, Marcia.
Carville: Remembering Leprosy in America
. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004.
Gould, Tony.
A Disease Apart: Leprosy in the Modern World
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
Gussow, Zachary.
Leprosy, Racism, and Public Health: Social Policy in Chronic Disease Control
. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1989.
Martin, Betty.
Miracle at Carville
. New York: Doubleday, 1950.
Ramirez, José, Jr.
Squint: My Journey with Leprosy
. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.
Secret People: The Naked Face of Leprosy in America
. DVD. Directed by John Anderson and Lisa Harrison. Boston: Fanlight Productions, 1995.
Stein, Stanley, and Lawrence Blochman.
Alone No Longer: The Story of a Man Who Refused to Be One of the Living Dead
. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1963.
Triumph at Carville: A Tale of Leprosy in America
. DVD. Directed by John Wilhelm and Sally Squires. Arlington, VA: PBS Video, 2008.
National Hansen’s Disease Museum, Elizabeth Schexnyder, Curator Physical Location: 5445 Point Clair Road, Building 12, Carville LA 70721
Mailing Address: 1770 Physicians Park Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70816
Web: www.hrsa.gov/hansens/museum
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 225-642-1950; Fax: 225-642-1949
The museum is open to the public, free of charge, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10:00
A.M
. to 4:00
P.M
. Closed federal holidays.
National Hansen’s Disease Program
Mailing Address: 1770 Physicians Park Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70816
Web: www.hrsa.gov/hansens
Copyright © 1999, Terri Fensel
Photograph courtesy of Bureau of Prisons
Photograph courtesy of Neil White Jr.
Photograph courtesy of Bureau of Prisons
Photograph by Pamela Parlapiano
Photograph courtesy of Neil White Jr.
Photograph courtesy of Neil White Jr.
Photograph courtesy of Bureau of Prisons
Photograph courtesy of Linda Peal
Photograph courtesy of Jane Stanley
Copyright © 1992, Paul Mange Johansen / www.IguanaPhoto.com
Courtesy of National Hansen’s Disease Museum
N
EIL
W
HITE
is the former publisher of
New Orleans Magazine, Coast
magazine, and
Coast Business Journal.
He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, where he owns a small publishing company. This is his first book.
www.neilwhite.com
To book Neil White for a speaking engagement, visit:
www.harpercollinsspeakers.com
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Jacket design by Ervin Serrano and Richard Aquan
Jacket photograph by BananaStock/Jupiter Images
Truth, Rumor, Leprosy, and Privacy
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts
is a memoir. It is a true account of my experience as a federal inmate incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Carville, Louisiana. I witnessed an unprecedented convergence of cultures at Carville—federal inmates and prison guards were thrown together with leprosy patients, public health workers, and an ancient order of nuns. Early in my prison sentence, I fantasized that my incarceration served as a rare opportunity for participatory journalism. I interviewed hundreds of inmates, and all the Carville residents who would talk to me, carrying a notebook and pen wherever I went. I was discharged from Carville with a library of details recorded moments after the events and conversations occurred.
Part of what makes institutions—penal, mental, or medical—so intriguing is that all are plagued by lore, innuendo, and rumor. Whenever possible, facts have been checked to validate the stories told to me, but many details of the narratives, events, and personal histories recounted are not verifiable. These recollections are set forth as they were recounted, and I have included questions and conflicting narrative in the manuscript.
A diagnosis of leprosy can destroy lives. Until the 1970s, many newly diagnosed patients changed their names rather than risk exposing their families to the stigma and shame surrounding the disease. Some families, to this day, carry the secret that a relative had contracted leprosy. Out of respect for the Carville residents (and for their families) I have disguised their identities. Although several photographs of Carville residents have been included in the book—those who regularly sat for visiting photographers—I have disguised their names, family connections, and hometowns.
I have also changed the names of other individuals—and modified identifying features, including physical descriptions and occupations, of certain other individuals—in order to preserve their anonymity. The goal in all cases was to protect people’s privacy without damaging the integrity of the story.
IN THE SANCTUARY OF OUTCASTS
. Copyright © 2009 by Neil White. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-188507-5
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