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No Footprints in the Sand
No Footprints in the Sand: A Memoir of Kalaupapa | Henry Kalalahilimoku Nalaielua, Sally-Jo Keala-o-?nuenue Bowman
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When Henry Nalaielua was diagnosed with Hansen's disease in 1936 and taken from his home and family, he began a journey of exile that led him to Kalaupapa—the remote settlement with the tragic history on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. During its century as a virtual prison, more than 8,000 people were exiled to Kalaupapa, until the introduction of sulfone drugs in the 1940s. Today fewer than 30 patients remain.This is Henry's story—an unforgettable memoir of the boy who grew to build a full and joyous life at Kalaupapa, and still calls it home today. No Footprints in the Sand is one of only a few memoirs ever shared with the public by a Kalaupapa patient. Its intimacy and candor make it, in the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin, “a rare and precious human document.” Nalaielua's story is an inspiring one; despite exile, physical challenges and the severing of family ties, he has faced life—as an artist, musician and historian—with courage, honesty, hope and humor.
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Clevercactus
No Footprints in the Sand: A Memoir of Kalaupapa | Henry Kalalahilimoku Nalaielua, Sally-Jo Keala-o-?nuenue Bowman
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Not many people who lived at the leper colony in Kalaupapa in Moloka'i recorded their life story but this gentleman did. There's a Jimmy Buffet line which best sums up his story: "some of its magic, some of its tragic but I had a good life all of the way." Fascinating first person account of the trials and tribulations of a man arrested then paroled because of leprosy. More detailed review on Goodreads

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Clevercactus
No Footprints in the Sand: A Memoir of Kalaupapa | Henry Kalalahilimoku Nalaielua, Sally-Jo Keala-o-?nuenue Bowman
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Disappointed with Alan Brennert's "Moloka'i", I decided to read this gentleman's memoir of his life on Moloka'i inside the Kalaupapa leper colony. He developed leprosy in 1936 when he was 10 and was taken from his family, quarantined at Kalihi Hospital, and ultimately rehomed on Moloka'i. The title stems from the fact that leprosy destroys a victim's feet leaving them unable to walk in the sand. So sad.