Special thanks to Neil White for joining us for discussion on this page, as the Class of 2015 arrived on campus for Orientation 2011, including a campuswide discussion of his book yesterday. Now we look forward to White’s campus visit Sept. 13 (click below for details). Thanks to all for your participation in this round of Book Club!
Davidson parent Neil White’s In the Sanctuary of Outcasts is our current selection, as well as being the common reading for nearly 500 first-year Davidson students in August. White, whose daughter Maggie is a rising Davidson senior, will join us here online Aug. 17-21. Join us now and feel free to begin posting your comments and thoughts.
• 2011 Orientation Discussion Guide (PDF).
• White to Speak on Campus, 11 a.m., Sept. 13.
White’s book is about “how he ended up in a federal prison in rural Louisiana, serving eighteen months for bank fraud. But it was no ordinary prison. The beautiful, isolated colony in Carville, Louisiana, was also home to the last people in the continental United States disfigured by leprosy.” It’s a powerful book and a good read. Get a copy from your favorite bookseller, mark this page or subscribe to one of the RSS feeds at right, check back for updated content, and get ready to join our discussion in July!
Note: Check out our new tabbed page at the top of this page, “Davidson Authors,” where alumni and others in the Davidson family can post book publishing news of their own!
—John Syme ’85, senior writer
Please include me in the book club. Thank you!
I’m in for the book club. i’m the mother of Davidson rising senior Jack Ochs. I’ll get the book today. please keep me posted. Ellen
Yes I would like to join the davidson book club discussions. Thanks
I’m in.
Sounds like an interesting read, will get started.
I would love to join the bookclub discussion group! I just ordered the book on Amazon.
Thanks!
I would like to be part of the book study on this book
Hey Wildcats,
I’m all for supporting Mr. White and your local bookseller, but don’t forget about the public library! Library systems around the country are struggling to make ends meet, even as our depressed economic situation causes increased demand for the public library’s programs, services and collections. They need your support, both in terms of your in-person and online visits to the library’s resources, as well as your advocacy in communities where staff, hours and collections are threatened by deep cuts.
Here is the link to In the Sanctuary of Outcasts in the library consortium in Massachusetts where I work: http://library.minlib.net/record=b2667392
Fifteen communities’ libraries in our consortium own Mr. Neil’s book, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the library in your town does, too. If you need help tracking down a copy, please contact me! I’d be more than happy to help.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a staunch supporter of authors and independent booksellers. But please, don’t forget your local public library!
Best regards,
Colin Wilkins ’02, MSLIS
Reference and Emerging Technologies Librarian
The Public Library of Brookline, MA
cwilkins@minlib.net
I so very excited to join the Davidson book club! I can’t wait to get started..
Janet Peterson
I’m in!
I would like to participate in discussing In the Sanctuary of Outcasts.
Greetings from Colorado (parent of a Davidson ’08 grad)! Just picked up my copy of “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts” during my lunch break today. Looks like a very powerful read. Can’t wait to start it and take part in this bookclub’s discussions!
I was an unwilling participant in this “drama”, since Neil and I moved in the same Gulfport social and business circles for 20 years. The realization that this was happening to “one of us” was not easy to stomach.
John Hash (66)
Hi Folks:
I’m “in,” and have ordered “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts.” Looking forward to reading and discussing with you!
Lynn McClintock, ’82
I am apparently late for this title, but I am in nonetheless. I will put myself on the schedule of the incoming freshmen.
Great idea for a book club. Please include me!
Great idea for the book club. Looking forward to sharing ideas.
I would love to participate in the book club. As the parent of a rising senior, and a native of Louisiana somewhat familiar with the leprosy colony in Carville, I am looking forward to reading this book!
I’m in.
Emelia Stephenson
Davidson ’76
I’m in!
(And not to brag, but the Wilmington Davidson women have started a Book Club. This was the first book we discussed last month . . . I was out of town, but the group had a great time. We are going to meet every other month for a book discussion! Thanks to Amy Taylor ’83 for getting us started!)
Started reading the book last night and have been fascinated by the story. Look forward to learning more.
I’ll be there as well.
I’m in. I’m an instructor at the college and a discussion leader. It will be interesting to hear the students’ reactions.
I’m in. I’m an instructor at the college and a student discussion leader.
I picked the book up from my local library (Cincinnati) and read about a third of the book last night. It’s a quick read for sure. So, how does the discussion thing work here? Are we waiting for the students? There are some aspects to the book in the first 100 pages that I’m curious if others are noticing. Your thoughts?
We lived in N.O. for several years in the late 70′s but were not aware of Carville. I had heard of the care given to lepers by the sisters…as a child this relieved my guilt. My generation definitely grew-up with a great fear of leprosy. Mr. White’s writing is easy to read and the descriptions make a clear imprint.
I’m in. Enjoying the book and look forward to discussion.
I am in. Just finished the book, a quick and insightful read.
I’m in too (as soon as I wrap up my current read). And second Jonathan’s questions. Regardless of how it plays out, I’m looking forward to it.
P.S. Colin, I’m an avid library user and the good news on this read is that all of the copies are either reserved or on hold for weeks at all of the Charlotte-Meck libraries. Seems like there are several from the area on board for this read. I think due to time constraints this time I’m going to have to fork over the cash for it.
Folks, I’ll have the privilege of leading a discussion of this amazing book in a small group of first-year Davidson students in a couple of weeks. Here are the questions that I compiled for that dialogue (though we won’t have time to discuss all of them). Your comments on them would be very appreciated.
Cheers,
Dr. Dave Perry, Professor of Applied Ethics and Director of the Vann Center for Ethics, Davidson College
1) Neil White seems to have had a wonderful life as a kid and young adult: supportive parents, a loving and patient spouse, two good kids, and a successful career as a journalist and publisher that he loved. So how did he get in legal trouble? (What is check-kiting? Why did he feel the need to do that? How did he rationalize doing that repeatedly?)
2) White says that he had enjoyed reading The Guinness Book of World Records since childhood, and aspired to be famous and praised for his achievements. Is there anything wrong with that kind of ambition? Is White’s ambition any different from yours, or that of the average Davidson College student?
3) Upon reflection after his wife told him the devastating news that she wanted a divorce, what conclusions did White draw about his own ambition and pride?
4) How would you describe White’s moral character? Is he a good person who happened to do a few bad things? How bad were White’s crimes? Were his business troubles all his own fault? How many bad things may a good person do before they deserve to be called a bad person? Or are “good” and “bad” labels too sweeping to apply accurately to any person’s character or life on the whole?
5) What do you make of the fact that although White initially concealed his crime from everyone, after it was exposed he cooperated thoroughly with investigators?
6) At the end of his Acknowledgments, the author thanks Judge Walter Gex “for holding [him] accountable.” Why would White thank the judge who sentenced him to prison?
7) Should it bother us that there used to be a place where most U.S. leprosy victims were forcibly quarantined? Or was that approach justified, on balance, given the lingering mysteries about how the bacterial disease is spread, and the apparent success of the quarantine policy in isolating and nearly eradicating the disease among humans?
8) Do we “quarantine” other people today, either subtly or openly? (Consider the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, criminals, the poor and homeless, et al.) If so, is it fair to do so?
9) Should we be troubled by the fact that the Hansen’s disease patients at Carville were forced to live with convicted criminals? (White calls it a “slap in the face” on 122.) Did the patients also benefit in some ways from that situation? (E.g., when inmates’ kids would visit.)
10) How were you affected by descriptions of the people who chose to work at Carville, such as the Sisters of Charity, Father Reynolds, or Dr. Paul Brand? How were you affected by imagining through people like Ella what it must be like to have Hansen’s disease?
11) What do you think are the most important things that White learned from his time at Carville? What insights do YOU take away from his memoir to apply to your own life?
Thanks for bringing the specific viewpoint of ethics to the broader discussion, David.
I’m struck particularly by question 11. As a freshman, I was only beginning to get a taste of what life might truly be like for people very different from me. Now that I know many people whose lives are very different from mine, I find that I still need reminders, like White’s book and your question, of how fortunate I am and of how important it is to “pay it forward” with service of some sort beyond lip service!
David,
I meant to respond earlier. Your questions are remarkable. Thoughtful, insightful. Best set I’ve ever seen. Thanks so much.
Neil
Thanks very much, Neil. In case it wasn’t clear from my questions, I think your book is excellent. I ended up not using some of my questions in discussions with freshmen yesterday, but was very pleased with the thoughtful insights they brought to the table. You’ve inspired a lot of important reflections.
Looking forward to discussing this with everyone including the students!
Welcome, Neil White, and all in the Davidson family gathered here to discuss his book. Let the comments and questions begin!
I read “Sanctuary” in 1 day, after hearing about the book selection. (my son is a rising senior at Davidson) I was deeply moved by the book. I look forward to the online discussion. Ellen Ochs
Thanks, Ellen! Feel free to go ahead and make a comment or pose a question! What were your surprises in reading the book? What moved you most about the author’s journey? About the people he met along the way?
All: Note that comments are “nested,” to help us create threads to organize our discussion. For instance, see Dave Perry’s comments, which include a list of questions from his perspective as director of Davidson’s Vann Ethics Center. Also, see the link on the main page for the discussion questions that will guide freshmen on Sunday. On the comments section of this main page, you can reply to a comment, or start a new thread! (We’re looking at ways to make the process even more user-friendly next time!)
Dear Davidson Family,
So very honored you’ve selected this story for the common reading experience. It was a strange, magical year. Thanks, thus far, for your kind words. Look forward to meeting all of you in September. I’m in the air a good bit this week (writing this from 30,000 feet — which is quite the leap from being in a prison/leprosarium with no computers), but will chime in whenever possible. With much gratitude and thanks,
Neil White
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts
P.S. Hard questions welcome.
Thanks, Neil!
Bring it, readers!
I read Neil White’s book last week and am looking forward to taking part in discussions.
Thanks, Bruce, and fire away with your comments and questions for the author, who will be checking in here through Sunday!
I was bothered by the consistent lack of remorse. I wonder if there was an earlier draft of the book that focused more on Neil’s crimes and how he made the business and ethical decisions that led to the devestation of his publishing business, along with the impact on his investors, friends, subscribers, advertisers, family, and community. As the book stands, it’s a lovely story about a forgotten segment of our population, ravaged by an unfair disease. I didn’t see the book as a memoir, mostly due to the lack of detail around what I’m sure was an important lesson about running a failing business. Your thoughts?
I did learn how to proofread long before I got to college and I do know how to spell devastation, so please excuse the typos. Now let the comments begin!
Jonathan,
First, I appreciate your candid question. Would love to have the time to answer it fully, detailing all the complexity. But the short, simple, incomplete answer is this — early drafts of this book were, if fact, much rougher on the narrator. And though I thought it was the right way to approach it, early readers hated the guy so much they didn’t want to keep reading. And, those folks who knew me, said it wasn’t an accurate portrayal. Second, though in life we might expect remorse at all times, we all have to forgive ourselves (though don’t confuse that with forgetting). After much suffering, attempts to make amends, and a life-long commitment to making those things right, we do laugh again. We do enjoy life. And I tried to reflect that accurately in the book.
But, ultimately, I was trying to tell a good story. And though disconcerting to you and others, I’m sure, I felt that overt apology, guilt, remorse in all the passages would weigh down the narrative. But I had hoped that it was a subtext in the entire piece.
Through your eye, I failed. But your point is certainly a valid one.
Perhaps I’ll have a chance to discuss the odd perspective of vastly different responses from the exact same stimuli — same words on the same page with responses ranging from “this is the most moving thing I’ve ever read” to “this guy didn’t learn anything.”
Thanks again.
Neil
Jonathan,
I had the same feeling toward the beginning of the book, but as I read on with some of your same unanswered questions, I realized that the story I cared about most truly was the one White told, a kind of literary journalism/memoir of a specific time and life lesson. I didn’t see a way for White to have treated both his misdeeds and his time at Carville fully without making the book about himself rather than his subject, or at the very least, less clear on the larger human lessons learned at Carville.
As for your question about how it all went down on the Coast, I’d be interested in the viewpoint of John Hash ’66, who noted in a previous comment that he moved in the same Gulfport social circles as White during some of the time in question. John?
John, time dims and blurs things, but few other than Neil’s close friends paid much attention after Neil’s sentence. Like so many personal tragedies, this quickly became yesterday’s news, and we were on the next scandal! The constant joke was that serving non-violent time meant “Raking sand traps” at the Federal Pen in Eglin AFB Florida.
To have known Neil when he was riding high, and then to see the Neil who wrote this book, is , in my opinion to look at a very contrite and repentant sinner! Neil, my hat is off to you for the way you handled it all. John Hash ’66
Jonathan, did you read chapter 40? It seems to me that the remorse White expresses there, following soon after his wife tells him she is filing for divorce, is truly profound. Also, the author clearly states that the book is the story of his year in Carville, not a memoir of his whole life.
“Sanctuary,” was a joy to read; I came to respect Neil White very much. The crimes described in the book brought to mind John Dean’s account of Watergate (“Blind Ambition”), a tale of incremental liberties and truth-shading that grew to become wrongs, and then crimes.
Those who’ve criticized Neil as insufficiently remorseful must have read a different book than I did. Acknowledging fault (repentance?) and seeking redemption evoke a near-religious theme amid this wonderful depiction of leprosy, fear, and sequestration as social policy. The forced quarantines within living memory invite comparison to our more recent panics in response to AIDS and SARS. Fortunately we now seem to more quickly penetrate (and demystify) medical truth, amending error and reducing ignorance at comparative warp speed — all less than a century after Carville was established.
My question for Neil: what have you learned about human nature from the responses to your book’s many provocations? Your introspection (and search for redemption) is apparent and moving — but apart from looking inward, what have you learned from responding outward to the spectrum of unleashed opinion?
David — These are great questions! I may use some of them to spark conversation with the discussion group I’m leading on Sunday.
Thanks for posting these!
I really appreciate that, Stacey, thanks very much! (I’m glad to see [below] that Neil White liked them, too.)
Dear Mike,
Thanks for your very generous words.
I’ll answer you question, best I can, in two parts. First, when I returned to Oxford, I tried to live my life more like Ella (rather than like my former models — the men and women on the cover of Forbes). Ella never accepted the stigma of leprosy. She would roll up to a group of strangers, make eye contact, treat them with respect . . . simply, “here I am, the way I am.” When I remembered to do that, my relationship with new friends started at a much deeper level. When I told them where I’d been and what I’d done, not only were they forgiving and willing to give me a second chance, generally they told me something that had happened in their lives that was difficult. So what I finally understood was that confession is not only good for the soul, it’s good for the person who hears this truth. And good for relationships.
As for reactions after the book was published, I have to admit I was stunned at the high percentage of positive reactions (at least within earshot). The few bad reactions or suspicions were about the content and subject matter and my apparent lack of adequate remorse (rarely about the writing . . . which was nice). As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s a fascinating study in human personality. The very same words on the very same paper, yet individuals react in such different ways. It seems obvious now that I’m writing it, but it always catches me off guard how much of a readers own history and perception they bring to the reading experience. If there are white spaces to be filled or questions left unanswered, they generally assume the answers lie in their world views.
I have to admit that the publishing of this book (not the writing mind you), the very act of putting it out there, runs counter to everything I learned in the book: do your deeds quietly, don’t seek out accolades. The real irony is that 18 years ago, I would have killed for this kind of attention. Go to a bookstore, read your words aloud, people applaud . . . then ask you for your autograph. Obviously, this is dangerous territory for me. And I try to pay close attention. And the one thing I never, ever do is ignore the criticisms.
Wouldn’t be a good thing for me to pay attention, exclusively, to the positive. So, I have a scrapbook of the worst things written about Sanctuary. My personal favorite, thus far, is a headline in the Dallas Morning News – “Lepers Teach Humility to Pariah.”
“Your” question, Mike. Should proof before I post.
One thing that impresses me about this conversation (and the book/topic that stimulates it) is how near it is to so many key aspect of religious life… confession, respect, rejecting stigma (i.e. inclusion), forgiveness, redemption, and more. Even your (Neil’s) comments about the role of “a readers history and perceptions” brings to mind scripture, and its usually explicit way of holding a mirror to the reader. In this context meaning changes substantially with the mindset of the reader, and one of the impressive things about Sanctuary is that it engages the reader at this level.
‘Sanctuary’ does acknowledge initiatives of the Catholic church (and of brave & sacrificial individuals associated with it), but otherwise the book and this conversation proceeds under a secular veneer. A book like this might not be well received (or at least would meet certain objections) if it were more explicitly religious, but as an active Presbyterian I can’t help but notice the resonances. So I wonder… does our cultural habit of marginalizing religion (and topics like redemption and salvation) serve us well?
On the topic of ‘white spaces to be filled or questions left unanswered,’ I recommend Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling Upon Happiness. A psychology prof, Gilbert explains that memory works (and avoids being overwhelmed) by retaining only a few key ‘landmarks;’ our minds then fill in details in “memory” of how things should be. Therefore even eyewitness testimony is suspect, and is not dispositive in law. There you have it… worldview (or in religious terms… belief) tells us how things should be (or should have been). Our tendency to fill in ‘white spaces’ with our own content is an artifact of how our brains function.
Had a great discussion about the book with a dozen freshmen this afternoon, and they’re looking forward to Neil White’s campus visit Sept. 13. Happy school year everyone! John Syme ’85
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am the daughter of a Presbyterian minister who had many if the themes selected for the freshmen to ficus in in the discussions fully emphasized in my upbringing and what was expected if me ( not always easy to live up to). As the wife of an attorney who dies a lot of bank work and living in a town that is seeing the aftermath of a lot of greed from the real estate boom, I found the book to be a perfect blend of the insightful, slow, and very personal atonement the author shared with us to be just right. Appropriate for the crime described (in my opinion)– and I was most interested to read in the pages at the end how the sentence came about without arrest or handcuffs or shackles–I was touched by the fondness, emphasized thoroughly, that the author had for Ella. The depiction of each “character” was wonderful–even charming—I felt like I knew Link and Doc and the others. I read it in two days and have been telling every thoughtful person I know to read it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am the daughter of a Presbyterian minister who had many of the themes selected for the freshmen to ficus on in the discussions fully emphasized in my upbringing and what was expected of me (not always easy to live up to). As the wife of an attorney who does a lot of bank work and living in a town that is seeing the aftermath of a lot of greed from the real estate boom, I found the book to be a perfect blend of the insightful, slow, and very personal atonement the author shared with us to be just right. Appropriate for the crime described (in my opinion)– and I was most interested to read in the pages at the end how the sentence came about without arrest or handcuffs or shackles–I was touched by the fondness, emphasized thoroughly, that the author had for Ella. The depiction of each “character” was wonderful–even charming—I felt like I knew Link and Doc and the others. I read it in two days and have been telling every thoughtful person I know to read it.
Please note my second post corrects the errors in my first post. As the mother of 3, including a toddler, my phone is the vehicle I gave for discussion and it “corrects” my spelling all too often leaving me to look illiterate. My apologies. JBB
I read the book very quickly and enjoyed it very much. Am sorry I’ll miss his visit to Davidson in Sept. I have a friend in prison and I sent him my copy after I finished. Hey Bear–I didn’t sense a lack of remorse; he seemed shocked that he had fallen as far as he did and of course hated what it was doing to his children and ultimately his marriage. I thought it was great that he took 12 years to polish his writing.