The Colony
John Tayman
(Reviewer - Dr. Alma H. Bond)
2006 Scribner
ISBN: 074323300X

The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai, Hawaii & the leprosy that imprisoned them there.

John Tayman reveals the untold history of the infamous American Leprosy settlement on a Hawaiian island & of the exceptional people who managed to survive under the most horrific circumstances. In 1866, twelve men & woman & one small child were put aboard a leaky schooner & cast away to an island prison. They were soon joined by hundreds more. Exile on Molokai continued for more than a century, the longest & deadliest instance of medical segregation in American history. In all, more than eight thousand people were banished to the settlement. Some still remain on that gorgeous island Paradise.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Dr. Alma H. Bond writes:

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai is a fascinating read with the protagonist, strangely enough, as the disease of leprosy itself. John Tayman tells us of its history, its horrible disfiguring symptoms for which there was, for countless centuries no cure, how the various patients adjusted, & finally, the triumphant conquering of the illness & the return of the lepers to normal life.

Descriptions of the facial & bodily disfigurement suffered by inmates are appalling & disgusting, as well as mesmerizing -- even the vivid description of the nauseating odors emanating from the unfortunate patients. Particularly loathsome are the accounts of the faces so ravaged they were unrecognizable. One description of leprosy has not been improved upon since given by Dr. Areataeus of Cappadocia in the first century A.D.: “There is no disease which is graver and more violent... it is filthy and dreadful to behold, in all respects like the wild animal, the elephant, lurking among the bowels, like a concealed fire, it smolders there... [then] blazes forth... The respiration is fetid... tumors predominate... The hairs on the whole body die prematurely... The skin of the head [becomes] deeply cracked... nose elongated... ears red, black, contracted, resembling the elephant... Sometimes, too, certain of the members will die, so as to drop off, such as the nose, the fingers, the feet, the privy parts, and the whole hands; for the ailment does not prove fatal, so as to relieve the patient from a foul life and dreadful sufferings.”(p. 97)

No age was exempt from the dreaded disease. Although it was primarily an illness of late childhood, adolescence, & early adult life, late onset was occasionally experienced. In the 1950s, a study was done indicating that only 7 out of a population of 585 patients had suffered the onset of the disease between the ages of 65 & 70. Over 8000 people suffered from this disastrous disease on Molokai, where they remained sequestered as virtual prisoners.

In 1974, a true “miracle drug” called rifampin was developed. It proved able to kill the leprosy bacilli in three days. “For the first time in 100 years,” the Star Bulletin reported, “no one in Hawaii requires hospitalization for leprosy.” (p. 287) Every patient was now qualified for release. Unfortunately, it was too late for some. They had been there so long they had lost all ties with the mainland, considered Molokai their home, & refused to leave. By the end of the 1990s, the average age of residents was 74.

Leprosy could now be cured. The usual treatment consisted of a sulfone-type medication called dapsone, clofazimine, & rifampin. A single aluminum-foil blister pack, resembling a package of Sudafed, contained a month's supply of medication. According to the World Health Organization, “When the regimen was completed, the disease became ‘a closed chapter in the life of the person.’” Eleven million people worldwide were cured of the illness. Experts estimated that 2.5 million cases remained, of whom 90% were in poor South Asia & Africa. Lepers found in the United States were mostly immigrants from those areas. Since the infliction was so rare in the US, it was often misdiagnosed or overlooked by doctors. It is now known as “Hanson's Disease”, in order to lessen the stigma lepers suffered from biblical times onward, & which still exists.

Late in the history of Molokai, younger inmates who had been treated with the new medication often appeared unscathed by the disease, to the point where they looked as though they were normal. For example, a tour guide conducting a group of tourists through the village & pointing out landmarks was asked, “Where are all the lepers?”
    The tour guide answered, “You're looking at one.”
     The visitor replied, “But you don't look like a leper.”
    The guide answered, “Looks can be deceiving.” (p. 295)

Unfortunately, the book is not as good when mentioning the various lepers & officials of the dreaded colony. I sometimes found it difficult to tell one from the other, & had to return to the introduction of a character in an earlier chapter to find out to which person a passage referred. This is particularly true of the officials, who occasionally seemed interchangeable. John Tayman is a science writer, not a psychologist, & it makes sense that his descriptions of the symptoms of the disease & their treatment is more noteworthy than his insight into human character.

The most clearly drawn & best known person in the book is Father Damien, who was highly significant in the history of Molokai, & whose selfless efforts on their behalf made life more tolerable for thousands of lepers.

Father Damien was sent to Molokai in 1873 at the age of 33, as a replacement for his ailing brother. He was supposed to be rotated out of the settlement in two months. Instead, he spent the rest of his life there, visiting each inmate at least once a week, & acting as director, doctor, general handyman, & gravedigger. He soon became the primary force in the colony. A typical day's work lasted 19 hours, & might include saying mass, hearing confessions, performing baptisms & last rites, greeting each newcomer to the island personally, constructing coffins for the dead, digging graves (it was said that at one point Father Damien personally had dug 1,300 graves), spinning bandages, dressing sores, passing out medicine, playing with children, conducting lessons in carpentry, & giving detailed advice about gardening & crops. By the time his rounds were finished, Father Damien would grope his way in the chalky light to the rectory, where he began to write. If not sleepy when finished, he would read a chapter of the New Testament.

Father Damien remained in robust health for many years. At all times, he believed he had to behave as if the disease could have no effect on him. He took no precautions whatsoever. He did not refrain from embracing the sick members of his congregation, touching a dying patient with oil, or laying the host on the tongue of a communicant. Lepers had access to his home at any hour of the day or night. He ate from communal bowls of poi, shared his pipe with patients, & was often seen “bandaging the most frightful wounds as though he were handling flowers.” (p. 125) It is no surprise that in 1886 the good Father came down with leprosy himself. It is only surprising that he did not develop it sooner. He died in three years later at the age of 49, after spending 16 years on the island. He was ordained a saint by the Catholic Church.

To be decreed a saint, a person has to have been someone of “heroic virtue”, a test Father Damien easily passed. Then it has to be established that the potential saint has begotten a genuine miracle. In 1895, a critically ill French nun had prayed to Father Damien for relief. She recovered. No medical evidence for her return to health could be found. The Vatican deemed it a miracle, & he became the Blessed Damien. At the beatification ceremony, Pope John Paul 11 proclaimed, “He became a leper for the lepers... revealing the beauty of his inner self, which no illness, no deformity, no weakness can totally disfigure.” (p. 309) Father Damien became world famous, & thousands of tourists came to visit his grave.

Despite some lack of clarity in distinguishing among several characters, John Tayman has written an utterly engrossing account of one of America's most shameful secrets. The book is a page-turner that is difficult to put down. Nobody who has read it will ever forget the devastating history of the lepers of Molokai.

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai is highly recommended to everyone who enjoys a good story, likes to be spoon fed science, or simply wishes to know the history of our country, be it good or bad.

John Tayman is the former deputy editor of Outside Magazine & an award-winning editor & writer. He has served as executive editor of New England Monthly, editorial director of Rocky Mountain Magazine, editor-at-large of Men's Journal, & contributing editor to Men’s Health, Life, CQ, People, & Business 2.0.
(03/26/06)

Dr. Alma H. Bond
2006©Alma H. Bond
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

A RebeccasReads author featured in Authors & Books

Reviewer's Bio:
Dr. Alma Halbert Bond is the author of 11 published books. Her latest, Camille Claudel: A Novel, hot off the presses!
The Deadly Jigsaw Puzzle;
The Tree That Could Fly;
Tales Of Psychology (2005);
I Married Dr. Jekyll And Woke Up Mrs. Hyde (2000);
The Autobiography Of Maria Callas, A Novel (1998);
On Becoming A Grandparent: A Diary of Family Discovery (1994);
Who Killed Virginia Woolf? A Psychobiography (1998);
Profiles of Key West (1996).

She recently recorded her new manuscript, Old Age Is A Terminal Illness, as an audio book.

She is also the author of a just published children's picture book called The Tree That Could Fly.

Dr. Bond teaches Psychology & Writing online at WriterSchool.