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I would have liked to read this book in connection with a visit to Molokai. Instead, I started it while on the island of Maui, from where you can look across the open seas to Molokai. Perhaps that "distant view" was more symbolic of this isolation of the leper colony which was located on the island's isolated northern peninsula from 1866 to 1969.

The author presents a sweeping history both of "Hansen's disease" (the modern designation) and its physical impacts, the creation and evolution of the colony in Hawaii, and the lives of those who suffered in exile. Drawing from a wide array of public and personal records, he tracks the changes in the settlement and the challenges of those consigned to live out their bleak existence there.

Tayman points out the great irony of leprosy: it's not a particularly contagious disease, and only a small percentage of the total population is even genetically susceptible to it. But fear and misunderstanding (including misinterpretation of related Old Testament injunctions) resulted in a terrible toll on those who were sent to Kalaupapa.

But in the midst of the suffering, we're given insight into great humanity and dignity. The colony lifted itself from chaos and disorder into a mutually-supportive society. There were men like Mormon Jonathan Napela (not a leper, but a "kekua" (non-leper)) who exiled himself to the colony when his wife was diagnosed and sentenced, eventually contracting the disease and dying a few weeks before his wife. Or Father Damien, the Belgian Catholic priest who dedicated his life to relief and service in the colony and also died of leprosy.

This was a fascinating, terrifying, and heart-warming book. It will give you a great appreciation for the blessings of health, family, unselfishness, and modern science.