In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

by Neil White

  Credits

  Jacket design by Ervin Serrano and Richard Aquan

  Jacket photograph by BananaStock/Jupiter Images

  Copyright

  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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