Book Review for the Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore

This is the story of a woman whose life changed completely—a result of a chronic disease. After a visit to her doctor, she is sent to a hospital where she is isolated. The hospital then sends her across the country to a treatment center in Louisiana without even informing her of her diagnosis. When she left on the journey, she had no idea that she would never be returning home.

This book is historical fiction and takes place in the 1920s. Although the story begins in Hollywood, California, most of it takes place in a leper colony in Carville, Louisiana.

Mirielle West, the main character of this story is the thirty-two-year-old wife of famous Hollywood silent screen actor Charlie West. She is also the mother of three children. Two of them are still living. Her son Felix drowned in a pool at the age of seven. She blames herself for his death.

After visiting her doctor for a spot on her hand, Mirielle is forced to check into an institution that is filled with other people with Hansen’s Disease. She assumes that she will only be there for a few days before returning home to her family. She is assigned to stay in a group home with residents she believes she has nothing in common with. She doesn’t like it there and even tries to escape. Little does she know that the residents of this facility, which she initially judges unfairly, will become her new friends and family.

After being there for some time she learns that the requirements to “graduate” from the facility require twelve consecutive months of evaluations with no signs of the disease. She eventually decides to try to make a positive difference in the community. She volunteers to try to help find a cure for the disease, helps plan activities for the residents, helps women in the facility to feel better about themselves, and even begins mothering a nine-year-old girl named Jean.

I loved reading this story. Before reading it, I didn’t know much about Hansen’s Disease, its treatments, or the social conditions patients afflicted with it suffered. I found this story enlightening. I give this book a solid four stars out of five. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about Hansen’s Disease.