WHO WALK ALONE

by Perry Burgess ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 1940

The first account, so far as I know, of that strange world of the living dead, a leper colony, as known by a leper. Unquestionably authentic, and with a holding fascination but with none of the morbidity one might expect. Definitely not a ""horror book"" and should appeal to those who like the doctor-true-story type of thing. Burgess, to whom the story was told, is president of the American Leprosy Foundation, and heard the story in Culion from Langford, the man himself. It is not sensational, it is a quiet, unself-conscious story of 25 years in the colony. Langford had gone to the Philippines as a volunteer in the Spanish-American War, and while there fell in love with a Filipino girl, Carita. Two years later, in the States he learns that Carita's brother is a leper. Nine years later he discovers that he, too, is a victim. A year of treatment in New York; then exile to Culion. The life there, the determination to take the hurdle of idleness, to help organize work by the community to overcome the feeling of uselessness, the meeting again with Carita, herself ill (and later cured) -- an amazing and unique story.

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1940

ISBN: 116450505X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1940

Categories: NONFICTION