In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: a memoir
Neil White
William Morrow, c2009. 316 pgs. Biography

Neil White convinced himself his ‘creative check writing’ was simply an inspired financial plan; he didn’t realize it would land him in a federal penitentiary and expose him to leprosy. But through a bizarre coincidence, White was sentenced to an old plantation in Louisiana that housed both minimum security prisoners and the last leper colony in the continental US. 15 years after his release he tells his story with honesty and candor.

The Leprosarium was this journalist's salvation, and with superb readability and genuine insight White discovers his rightful place among society’s exiles. Amazingly funny, its colorful cast of inmates will greatly amuse the reader, but the most poignant moments are found in the friendships he clandestinely forms with the leper patients and the lessons he sorely needs to learn. A completely unique, astonishing read.

Admittedly, a favorite scene was the condition of the prison library, where a warden with a fondness for order decreed that all books be arranged with precision—according to book size. Some of the mastermind criminals would surreptitiously re-arrange the books according to author while staying within the height requirement. These were the brave few, who risked a lengthened sentence if their perfidy was discovered.

* Conservative readers might be offended by the strong, street language used by several inmates.

DAP