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Neil White (4) (1960–)

Auteur van In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir

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Over de Auteur

Neil White has been a newspaper editor, magazine publisher, advertising executive and federal prisoner. His memoir, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts (Morrow/HarperCollins), is about the year he lived with the last victims of leprosy in the continental United States, was released in June of 2009. toon meer Sanctuary was a finalist in the "Books for a Better Life" Award and was one of three finalists for the 2009 Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" Award. In 2010, the Southeastern Library Association named Mr. White "Outstanding Author of the Year." Foreign language translations have been published in Germany, Croatia and the Netherlands. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, where he operates a small publishing company, writes plays and essays, and teaches memoir writing. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder
Fotografie: Mississippi Writers and Musicians

Werken van Neil White

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir (2010) — Auteur — 565 exemplaren
Ten Minute Plays from Oxford (2002) — Editor, Introduction & Contributor — 2 exemplaren

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A pretty good memoir. Goodreads: Following conviction for bank fraud, White spent a year in a minimum-security prison in Carville, Louisiana, housed in the last leper colony in mainland America. His fascinating memoir reflects on the sizable group of lepers living alongside the prisoners
 
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bentstoker | 39 andere besprekingen | Jan 26, 2024 |
In the early 20th century, the federal government established a leper colony at Carville, Louisiana to house patients suffering from Hansen's Disease (which term they prefer to the more stigmatizing term "leperosy"). By the early 1990's, only about 130 patients remained at the facility, and the government started using part of the facility as a federal prison, particularly for prisoners with health issues, since there was an on-site hospital.

The author was convicted of a federal white collar crime relating to check kiting/bank fraud and was sentenced to one year which he spent at Carville. When he arrived he knew little about leperosy other than references to it in the Bible, and that those suffering from the disease were frequently ostracized. At the facility, the powers that be generally tried to keep the patients and the prisoners separate, but because of his job in the cafeteria, the author was able to interact with many of the patients, and came to know the stories of many of them. Some of these stories are sad indeed. Most of the patients were fairly old, and many were taken from their homes when they were only children. Sometimes they were taken forcibly, sometimes their families turned them in. Some never saw their families again, while others had frequent visits.

We also learn a lot about some of the federal prisoners who were incarcerated there, and their stories, including for example that of Jimmy Hoffa's attorney, are very interesting. When they author first arrived, the reader is given the impression that he didn't really think he had done anything too bad to receive his punishment. As time progresses, however, he does come to recognize his crimes, and ponder on ways to turn his life around when he is released. He makes some interesting comparisons between the patients, many of whom are innocent souls but who nevertheless have received a life imprisonment of sorts at Carville, with the actual prisoners, many of who are there for fairly short terms, but who are by no means "innocent."

This was a quick read, and it is not particularly an in depth history of Carville or of Hansen's Disease. I would like to read more on the subject, but this was a good introduction.

3 stars
… (meer)
 
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arubabookwoman | 39 andere besprekingen | Dec 28, 2023 |
This was a well written non fiction book about a unique situation. The author Neil White, was convicted of bank fraud-kiting checks- and sentence to 18 months in prison. He serves a year-with good behavior- at a unique prison in Louisiana, that houses non violent offenders, as well as Leprosy patients. The history of the institution named Carville ( as in James Carville's family) and the patients that occupy it was fascinating. The prisoners who are also housed there, were an interesting mix as well, from Jimmy Hoffa's lawyer to a body building medical expert. The author is rather pretentious when he arrives there and unfortunately remains that way for much of his sentence, but through the help of one of the leprosy patients named Ella, begins to see what is really important for him to focus on when he is released from prison. The story is a little sappy, and I am not sure I believe the author really changed his way but the book was still very good.… (meer)
 
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zmagic69 | 39 andere besprekingen | Mar 31, 2023 |
I have an interest in diseases, life in institutional settings (e.g. orphanages, TB sanatoria, boarding schools), and I am also interested in the workings of our correctional systems, so this was a great combination for me. Federal prisoners, including the author, are confined at Carville, where there are still a few Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients residing.
 
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Martha_Thayer | 39 andere besprekingen | Apr 17, 2022 |

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Werken
2
Leden
567
Populariteit
#44,118
Waardering
½ 3.7
Besprekingen
40
ISBNs
131
Talen
3

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