Who knew that leprosy was not just in the Bible? Based on a real leprosy community in Louisiana with fictional characters, this book did for me what I love historical fiction to do - makes me want to dive deep into google and learn all the things about something/someone that I knew nothing about.

Mirielle West is the wife of a film star and after a few medical mishaps, she is diagnosed with leprosy and is shipped off to a community where many patients have been living for different lengths of time with the hope of a cure so they can return home. Mirielle West has quite the character journey and I enjoyed watching her grow and evolve along with the other patients that were in the community.

I both read the ebook and audiobook and was so grateful to have both to experience this book. The narrator was wonderful and added feelings and inflections in just the right spots

This is my second Amanda Skenandore book and I hope to catch up on the backlist and anticipate the future books. I loved how she built the characters and the surrounding and the ride she took us on!

I really enjoy historical fiction and The Second Life of Mirielle West was no exception. It focused on a time in history and a topic I had not read much about. Yet, from the start it was very entertaining. Miielle was living a very affluent life in Hollywood. It was the 1920’s and the Golden Age of Silent Movies. She is used to parties and glamour but one awful day, a doctor finds a pale patch of skin on her hand. This marking will drastically change Mirielle’s life. She will be taken away from her husband, daughters and her wonderful life. She will be sent to Carville, a Leper Home in Louisiana. She hopes, prays and begs God that her time here will be short and she can go home. As the days and months drag on though she realizes that no one really leaves Carville. So she decides to make the most of it. She helps out as a nurse, creates a great social life and does manage to make a friend or two. The constant sickness though and her surroundings start to wear thin on her and she starts to become hopeless. The author did an amazing job of telling this story. The characters and the settings were brought to life by her excellent writing. I really felt invested to see how things played out for Mirelle and the patients at Carville. I liked how she wasn’t alway depressed but showed love, compassion and a bit of mischief during her days there. This was a four star listen for me. Nicole Poole did an excellent job narrating. It checked off most of the boxes I find in a good book. I want to thank Netgalley, Amanda Skenandore and Highbridge Audio for my copy for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure to listen and review this book. I always like the opportunity to listen, a new to me, authors work.

In this historical fiction set in the 1920's, Mirielle goes from Hollywood socialite to active, caring member of the Carville, Louisiana community due to a bout with leprosy. Such an interesting take on what it was like to be sent to a leper colony right here in the United States.

When a high society woman comes down with leprosy in the 1920's and is taken to a leprosy colony, she believes she will only be there a few weeks. This is a story about how she lives in the colony while trying to keep her family. It's a very heartwarming story. The narrators voice is pleasant to listen to. I would highly recommend this story.

This is an inspiring take on the “gift” you are given in the form of one of the most stigma-defined illnesses - the leprosy. Because this, too, can be a gift, very hard gift to stomach, yes; but the one which can make you finally take a hard look into the mirror to the self you don’t see, don’t want to see.
And why would you, if you are a beautiful wife of an Hollywood actor , mother of his two children and overall you have an easy life? Yes, there was this tragedy and yes, maybe you indulge in alcohol a bit too much, but what?
Until the diagnosis comes. Then the forced hospitalization in Carville, the hospital and leprosy colony. Until you realize this previously unseen world with its own rules, fears and hopes. Until you realize that 12 negative tests to re-enter the “normal” society again might be a hard dream to fulfill. Until you realize that once a leper, always a leper.

I liked the sweetness, the slow way Mirielle has been changing (as in reality it mostly goes like that), the warm attitude the authoress has towards her characters and the overall bringing this illness and the Carville history into the light.

Also I liked some side characters, mostly Sister Verena! She is fully fleshed character and the novel written as seen by her eyes would be a delight, I think.

Minuses - the character development could go much, much deeper. While this is not a superficial book, it could offer much more to ponder. Also some subplots could be played more (like Mirielle’s marriage) and some less. The ending is quite abrupt, also - there is an epilogue, but I would like some parts of the plot to be played in the “real time”.

But I will remember the novel because of its undeniable sweetness.

The narration of the audiobook was fine, nothing has bothered me.

This was such a sad and heartbreaking book, but I loved it all the same. I thought it was a very well written and well researched book. The author did a great job with this story. I don’t want to say much without giving the book away. But I highly recommend you check it out!

I started listening to this book very open-minded, not knowing much about how life must have been for people with leprosy. I didn't expect that the story would touch me this much, it was very interesting to learn a bit more about their situation and how things were/might have been for some people.

But besides the historical/medical part of the story there is also the part of Mirielle dealing with life; how to deal with grief, the acceptance of her illness, and most of all accepting her life for what it is and moving on. This is the part when her second life really begins. The way her journey of acceptance was really well written and I think can be recognized by people of all ages for different reasons.

I really enjoyed the story for this and will definitely recommend it to other readers.

Thank you, NetGalley and HighBridge Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Such an amazing story of despair, hope, courage and love. Mirielle, the main character, is increasingly likeable as she navigates her life inside a leper’s colony and copes with her own struggles and helps others. I had no idea how the story would end and was satisfied it reached the best conclusion it could.
The copy provided to me by NetGalley was an audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator’s voice.
This is definitely worth a listen.

Thank you BiblioLifestyle and Kensington Books for a free physical copy and Netgalley and High Bridge Audio for the audiobook.

When the fabulous wife of silent film star is whisked away from her life and home after a leprosy diagnosis, she finds herself in Louisiana at Carville Lepers Home. This place is so vastly different from the life she knew. She was used to getting her way and running the show. Now she's just another patient and keeps being told to just go with the flow and accept her fate.

Because of multiple books I have read lately, I have realized I love a book with fleshed out, interesting secondary characters and this book is full of them. From Jean, a little girl who is a thorn in Mirelle's side, to Irene who teaches Mirelle how to navigate this diagnosis and new life, to Frank who is equal parts repulsive and intriguing to Mirelle, and Sister Verena who Mirelle can't seem to please.

I generally like very likeable characters and Mirelle doesn't start that way for sure in this book, but her character arc and her changing her outlook on life was lovely to read. She doesn't betray her true colors even in her transformation though, and I like that although her rough edges are filed down, she doesn't lose who she is.

Overall I fully recommend this one. I think it's so interesting to read a new facet of history and Amanda Skendendore can write some great layered characters.

Content Warning: Confinement, Chronic Illness (Leprosy)

The Second Life of Mirielle West is the first book I've read by author Amanda Skenandore. I shall be looking out for more books by this talented author. I listened to the audiobook version, and I highly recommend immersing yourself in the novel that way. The audiobook was narrated by Nicole Poole, who did a wonderful job. Unlike some narrators, you could really tell the difference between the men and women. I enjoyed listening to her Louisiana and Cajun accents. If you're looking for a different kind of historical novel, this is it.

Mirielle West lives with her film star husband Charlie and their two girls in 1920's Los Angeles. Her life consists of parties, shopping and the like. She's also been known to have too much gin and champagne in an attempt to numb herself after a horrible family tragedy. When her doctor notices a small patch of pale skin on her hand, he insists on more testing. Mirielle thinks they're making something out of nothing...until she gets a diagnosis of leprosy. She is whisked away from her family and sent to the Carville leper colony in rural Louisiana. It seems like a prison. Some of the patients have barely discernable outward signs of the disease, while others are totally ravaged. Mirielle, like most of the patients, changes her name to protect her family from the stigma of leprosy. All she wants to do is go home; she is sickened by the patients' signs of the disease, and keeps to herself. But then Mirielle begins her second life...

When I started this audiobook I didn't think I would enjoy it, as Mirielle was as unlikeable as a character could be. But the story was interesting, so I kept on listening, and I am so glad I did! This story was absolutely heartbreaking, but it was also a story of human resilience, family and love. It was horrifying how lepers were treated in the 1920's. After they were brought to Louisiana, the boxcar they were transported in was destroyed by fire. If a patient escaped, they were put in jail at the colony when they were returned. Many of the patients were disowned by their families and never saw them again. I've heard the phrase "treated me like a leper" before; now I truly understand it. Carville was a Marine hospital and the patients were treated and taken care of by nuns. When Mirielle left for Carville, she brought fancy clothes and makeup. She felt as if she was above the other patients. She eventually started working in the infirmary, and she just knew she would help cure leprosy; she couldn't believe the menial tasks she was given to do! She began to make friends and involved herself in more charitable deeds. Though her experiences didn't turn her into an angel, she really grew as a woman. The choices she made when her daughter was sick and she was going to escape and visit her were astounding. By then I absolutely loved Mirielle. There were many outstanding supporting characters, but of course I had my favorites. Frank ran the canteen; he and Mirielle were attracted to each other but she was still disgusted by the signs of the disease he had. Jean was a 10 year old who was abandoned by her father. Sister Verena was the nun in charge, and she was one tough cookie! She treated Mirielle with disdain, but also helped her to grown. My absolute favorite, however, was Irene from Texas. I think she taught Mirielle for the first time what real friendship was. The epilogue is guaranteed to make you cry. This story truly drew me in with its wonderful characters and well-written storyline. The narrator here brought it to life. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I was hesitant to engage in this book but I’m so glad I did! I found the story very fascinating. Murielle’s journey literally takes your breath away as you connect with her on how surreal the steps leading to her “treatment” become.

While Murielle would like to just have a quick spa treatment and go home she has no idea what is actually in store for her. It seems unfathomable that people can essentially be held prisoner and treated as guinea pigs as they’re subjected to experimental treatments. We also see the impact on the family and friends of those connected. When she finally acquiesces that she’s going to have to follow the treatment regimes she also begins to address the grief and loss she’s been self medicating with alcohol. In some ways Murielle comes alive when she really feels that she’s been stripped most bare. Murielle sees that for her second life she wants to take less for granted and embrace more small moments.

The Second Life of Mirielle West has been my first experiment with an audiobook. How did it go? Well, slower than expected for sure – a miscalculation from my side, as I only listen to books when I’m driving and I didn’t have many chances to burn rubber back in July/August.

Still, you should know by now that slowness often means that I enjoyed something a whole lot. It’s quickness that should worry authors 😛

**


Based on the true story of America’s only leper colony, The Second Life of Mirielle West brings vividly to life the Louisiana institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century.

For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease.

At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.

384 pages – 12h 37minutes
Historical
HighBridge Audio, Kensington
Goodreads

**

Cover: I love it. Simple and elegant.

Narrator: Nicole Poole did an outstanding job. Her voice is pleasing to listen to, her style is clear. Lovely accent too.

Yay!

- The Second Life of Mirielle West is the story of a ‘20 socialite, Mirielle, who gets diagnosed with leprosy. Nowadays, this disease is treatable with antibiotics; back then, it still carried a huge social stigma, meaning that patients were just carted off to special hospitals. Mirielle ends up in one of them, a Louisiana military facility named Carville, away from her husband and her daughters. From then on, her life will never be the same.

- I rooted for every character while I was listening, and I mean it in a literal way. Even the most unsympathetic ones have a redeeming trait – and this, this is how you convey realism. Case in point, Sister Verena. Or Charlie. Wow. I mean, Skenandore’s skills in handling her characters blow me away. I also like the dynamics between them, forever changing and developing.

- What a wonderful writing style. Skenandore drops clues here and there, avoiding infodumps—thank you—and the abuse of descriptions. Everything is functional to the plot, without unnecessary details or digressions.
Mirielle’s growth is a thing of beauty. When the story begins, she’s no stranger to pain; her diagnosis is yet another blow dealt to her core, something that could have destroyed her spirit. Little by little, she finds a new purpose, befriending and helping the other patients.

- The historical accuracy is spot on. I researched a few details myself, just to make sure, and they all checked out.

Nay!

- No flaws. This is a perfect book.

TL;DR

5 stars on GR, and I wish I could give it a couple more. Well done.

Honestly, after reading this book, I'm still not sure how I totally feel about it. In this story, we find ourselves in the 1920s as we follow a film star's wife to a Leper Colony. I found the concept of this story fascinating, and was excited to read the book. I did learn a lot from this book, and the change of pace from what I normally read was nice. But I just didn't love the story as a whole. I didn't care for many of the characters, I found the book felt super long while listening to it, and it just didn't come together in the way I had hoped.

"The Second Life of Mirielle West" was interesting to read.

It's hard to believe that just 100 years ago, lepers were still locked away in colonies with no real chance to interact with their former lives after their diagnosis.

The protagonist was complex, her actions realistic, and I loved her character growth throughout the novel. I also liked that there wasn't a real bad guy, but that all the characters she interacted with had their own backstories and reasons to act the way they did.

3.5 Rounded Up

I received a reviewer audio review copy of The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore from the publisher Orange Sky Audio from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a copy from a Goodreads giveaway.

CW: Illness, Leprosy Stigma, Forced Institutionalization (to a leprosy community), Marital Problems, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Ideation, Depression, Suicide, Abandonment, Child Abandonment, Death of Child, Drowning, Alcoholism

What It’s About: Mirielle West is the wife of a big Hollywood star, but as of late her life hasn’t been much to adore. Since she lost her son in an accident, Mirielle has fallen into a drunken stupor and doesn’t really pay attention to her other children. One day Mirielle burns herself on her flat iron and is sent to the doctor only to discover she has leprosy. She is shunned and sent to a small settlement in Louisiana to recover.

What I Love Gosh, this book should have been one I adored and as I got more in, I liked it more. I loved the eventual friendships that occurred with our patients and the found family angle. I loved learning about the stigma and the existence of this type of community. It was heart breaking seeing these people separated from their families and exposed to a bunch of experimental treatments. I had no idea about any of this and so it was unique historical fiction to be explored. I loved some of our side characters and I loved Mirielle, when she finally started being such a snot. I also really dug the romance in this one.

What I Didn’t Love: I’m gonna be really honest there was a lot of this I didn’t love. Namely, that Mirielle was so unlikable when she was in one of her moods. When the book starts off Mirielle is so full of herself and she talks down to the people at the group in the same way as the rest of the community does. It’s really hard because she is just so cruel and selfish. As the book goes on, she grows, but she also teeters between her two personalities and when she’s being cruel and selfish, this book is hard to read. Really hard to read. I also wasn’t sure I was sold on the ending adventure, but I kind of understand why it went that way.

Who Should Read This: People who love old Hollywood books. People who want new topics in their historical fiction. People who love found family and don’t mind a unlikable character.

Quick Summary: A Hollywood Housewife receives a diagnosis that changes everything.

Mirielle has burned her hand. She calls the doctor in for a house call. She is immediately sent to the hospital. Then, within 24 hours, she is placed on a train and shipped from California to Louisiana. Her life, as she knows it, is over.

Mirielle leaves behind a husband in the movie business plus two young daughters. She is only allowed to write to her family. There is no phone service. She feels like she is in prison not a hospital.

This story tore my heart out in places. The patients, including the children, the horror of the illness and the lack of family interaction, really bring about all your emotions. The rigors of the treatments and the threat of this disease, create a different kind of life for all involved.

I love, love, love a book in which I learn something or a book that is unique and I have not read much about the subject. This one covers both of those things. Being in the medical field, I enjoyed learning about all the strange treatments for leprosy. Also, how the infected patients were actually treated. Add in all the wonderful characters and location and you have a fantastic read!

Nicole Poole is excellent as the narrator of this audiobook. She is now on my list as one to watch for!

Need a book that will keep you captivated from start to finish…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this audiobook from the publisher for a honest review.

If you’re looking to put our recent pandemic and quarantine situation into perspective be sure to pick up a copy of The Second Life Of Mirielle West. Set in the early 1920s when communication amounted to letters and little else, we see the cruel reality faced by a group of leper’s band to the Carville Lepers Home in Louisiana for years or even decades.

Mirielle West is living her best life as the wife of a silent film star when her doctors discover she has leprosy. Her forced quarantine leads her down a heartbreaking road of depression, self discovery, and ultimately self love and reinvention.

Amanda Skenandore brings this little know piece of American history to life with relatable characters and vivid writing style.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars with a PG rating for all lovers of character driven historical fiction.

I don't really know what I expected going into this. It wasn't something that I found myself dying to continue reading, however, when I did I really enjoyed it. I really think the story got better as it went on.

Mirielle is the wife of a movie star and is diagnosed with leprosy. She's taken to a leper colony in Georgia. Naturally, it's all a struggle for her to deal with. Over time, she makes friends and learns more about her disease which helps her to accept it.

The narrator of the audiobook also took me a little while to get in to. When I first started listening, it felt like listening to a robot. That got better as I continued to listen.

I have said this before as well: one of the reasons why I love reading historical fiction is because I get to read about stories, people, things, events, etc. that are generally not brought to light in history books--atleast not the personal and emotional aspects. In the Second Life of Mirielle West I got to read about the only leper colony that existed in USA, located at Carville, Louisiana during the roaring twenties. The characters depicted may all be fictional but the thoughts, dreams, hopes & emotions of love, loss, longing, acceptance and suffering highlighted by them all must definitely echo of those people who did inhabit this colony.

The book is about people suffering from a disease which causes them to be shunned as social outcasts and yet it is positive--positive because despite being dealt with a bad hand, these people strive to not be bowed down to their predicament and work towards building new, fulfilling and meaningful lives and relationships for themselves just like Mirielle West, the wife of a rich, famous Hollywood actor who is sent to Carville does.

I listened to the audiobook. At over 12 hours it is a lengthy audiobook and I was initially concerned if I would be able to follow easily but the brilliant and emotive narration by Nicole Poole made it worth the listen. This novel seems well researched and has a lot of characters playing a part in the storyline and Nicole Poole did an outstanding job bringing each and every character's voice and personality to life. This is probably the first audiobook where I easily recognised which character was speaking just by the voice modulation.

My thanks to NetGalley, the audio publisher Highbridge Audio and the author Amanda Skenandore for the audio ARC of the book.

The Second Life of Mirielle West
Author, Amanda Skenandore
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Pub date: July 27, 2021 Available now!

Thank you @netgalley and HighBridge Audio for the opportunity to listen to this brilliant narration by Nicole Poole.

~ Resilience, repulsion, and the roaring 20's in an evocative novel based on the little- known history of Carville, America's only Leper colony, by award- winning Author and Registered Nurse Amanda Skenandore. ~

What an absolutely fascinating and moving historical fiction novel written with passion and expertise about the evolution of medicine and of a time in history that I knew very little about. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go back and forth between reading the paperback and listening to the audio and really immerse myself in this poignant and thought- provoking story.

Mirielle West has a glamorous life in Hollywood married to Charlie, a successful actor, and spends her days living the high society lifestyle while having the nanny care for their two daughters. When she accidentally burns herself with the curling iron and seeks medical attention, the doctor notices a small patch of pale skin in the back of her hand and insists on further testing. Before she can even understand what's happening, Mirielle is diagnosed with leprosy and forcibly exiled from her family in LA to Carville, Louisiana, where she will be quarantined at the national hospital for lepers. Absolutely horrified and in denial that she, Socialite Mirielle West, could have the same diagnosis as these patients in this prison, as she refers to it, changes her name to shield her family from the stigma attached to the disease, angrily avoids other residents, and desperately hopes for a cure in order to rejoin her family and society.

What was so powerful about Mirielle's character was that she really was introduced to the reader as an unlikelable woman, but as the story unfolds, Mirielle is given no choice but to find purpose with herself, possibly for the first time, while fighting her unpredictable disease and learning just so much about herself and life along the way. Her growth throughout the novel allows the reader to open her heart to Mirielle and fight along side her. The characters in this story each were layered and significant and offered so much to Mirielle's experience. And the descriptive writing of the hospital, Louisiana, and the conditions and relationships of the patients were so intense, that it was an actual experience to read and listen to this novel.

With themes of love, loss, forgiveness, resilience, suffering, and healing, this emotional and beautifully written novel will stay with me for a long time. And that ending!

The audio narrated by Nicole Poole was outstanding as she gave each character a voice and read perfectly Skenandore's story. 5 star narration!

This is my first read of Amanda Skenandore's, but I can't wait to read her backlist and will absolutely look forward to anything she writes in the future!