The Second Life of Mirielle West
ByPublisher Description
Based on the true story of America’s only leper colony, The Second Life of Mirielle West brings vividly to life the Louisiana institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century.
For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease.
At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.
As a registered nurse, Amanda Skenandore’s medical background adds layers of detail and authenticity to the experiences of patients and medical professionals at Carville – the isolation, stigma, experimental treatments, and disparate community. A tale of repulsion, resilience, and the Roaring ‘20s, The Second Life of Mirielle West is also the story of a health crisis in America’s past, made all the more poignant by the author’s experiences during another, all-too-recent crisis.
PRAISE FOR AMANDA SKENANDORE’S BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY
“Intensely emotional…Skenandore’s deeply introspective and moving novel will appeal to readers of American history.”
—Publishers Weekly
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Second Life of Mirielle West Reviews
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Created about 5 hours agoTev
Created about 6 hours agoGill Moore
Created 1 day agoMandy Jo
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Created 3 days agoAbout Amanda Skenandore
Amanda Skenandore is a registered nurse and acclaimed author of historical fiction, including The Nurse’s Secret, The Second Life of Mirielle West, When No One Else Will, and more. The recipient of the American Library Association’s RUSA Reading List Award for her debut, Between Earth and Sky, her novels have been selected for Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books, Apple Best Books of the Month, the Hoopla Book Club, and 2023 Silicon Valley Reads, among other honors. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and can be found online at AmandaSkenandore.com.
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