NO ONE MUST EVER KNOW

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 23, 1959

What happened in the ten years since Miracle At Carville (after Harry and Betty Martin left the protection of the life they had known there for twenty years) should interest the wide audience of those who read the first book which has done so much to change the attitudes of the public towards those who have been the victims of Hansen's disease (not leprosy). Untroubled and unsuspecting, they came out into the world knowing the stigma that existed, dreading any possible exposure, and belonging ""with the secret people"". The purchase of a car and a trailer took half their savings and the trailer, which they bought for eye-appeal, proved to be a real threat on the roads. After daily difficulties with it, they finally reached North Carolina and decided to stop over there; Betty to write her book; Harry to try and get work, handicapped by his own physical weakness, his lack of references. Finally failing, they returned to New Orleans where Betty left her finished book, waiting a year for a contract, before they started out again for California where again Harry had many difficulties in getting a job he was strong enough to handle. The publication of the book coincided with his first real security but there was always the fear that their identity might be revealed; a Christopher award bought the house Betty had always wanted; and finally the reactivation of the disease took Betty back to Carville- for six months- before she could go back to Harry,safely able to check it with a new drug.... The story of the ""young couple from Carville"" continues to have its genuine appeal as well as its beneficial application for all those people who no longer need be scarred, emotionally or physically, by this disease.

Pub Date: April 23, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1959

Categories: NONFICTION