Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Life in a Hawaiian leper colony in the early 1900s--based on a true story

 

Moloka’i

by Alan Brennert

St. Martin's Griffin

Moloka’i tells the story of Rachel, a young child who is diagnosed with leprosy and taken by the Hawaiian government health officials away from her family and sent by boat  to Moloka’i, a secluded leper colony, where she lives in a dorm managed by nuns along with other girls who have been diagnosed with this devastating disease. Moloka’i takes us through Rachel’s whole life on the island and beyond, when she is allowed, in middle age, to leave the island, after tests show her leprosy is in remission.

This is a well-researched novel full of heart and based in historical fact. I was filled with compassion for the characters and also when thinking of the real-life people who spent most or all of their lives on Moloka’i. I enjoyed both the Christian and pagan perspectives portrayed, and thought the author treated both with great respect. It’s a story both tragic and, because of the spirit of Rachel and the other residents of Kalaupapa on Moloka’i, uplifting. It hit me right in the heart. Reviewer's foot note: On October 21, 2012, a nun named Marianne Cope, a German—born American known for her charitable works and virtuous deeds and who spent much of her life caring for the lepers on Moloka’i without ever contracting the disease, was declared a saint by Pope Benedict XVI, and is now known as Saint Marianne of Moloka’i.