A totally absorbing true story of a young southern girl diagnosed with leprosy. Whisked away to Carville, the only leprosy facility in the United States, she adjusts slowly to the stigma, the lack of effective medicine, the isolation and the loss of her former life.

Betty introduces us to a number of unforgettable characters in the decades she spent in Carville, including the bitter young man she eventually falls in love with. The couple leave Carville for a time (escape is the accurate word), but when her husband's disease becomes worse they return to find that strides are being made leprosy treatment. Although this book was written in the 50's, it ends with hope and the promise of a brighter future. I looked up Carville and leprosy on the internet and was pleased to see that things are indeed better. ( )