I was really drawn into this story. I had no idea that leprosy was prevalent in the United States nor had I heard of Carville. The author tells a compelling story based on history. The characters are so real and believable. My heart was touched profoundly as I read of the struggles, stigma, heartaches and joys. ( )

Very good!! Highly recommend! ( )

What an interesting story based on an actual leper colony in the U.S. Who knew such a thing existed? And to think that patients were forcibly whisked away from their families at the first sign of the disease and locked up, perhaps never to see their loved ones again, is inconceivable to me. Mirielle/Pauline was a fascinating character, too. The grief and guilt she felt over her dead son and the two little daughters she had to leave was all too real, but she was so resilient! She really found a way to adapt to her new circumstances and showed that her husband's assessment of her self-absorption was not all there was to her character. I had to laugh at my mental picture of her climbing fences, slogging through mud, and falling into swampy waters in her beautiful clothes and dainty shoes, but I also admired how she stepped up and showed how she truly cared about the people she encountered in her second life. It was satisfying that she found love again with Frank and that Jean found a surrogate mother. I'm sure not many of the real people who inhabited Carville had such a happy ending.

We liked "The Second Life . . ." Thought it was a good Summer read. We felt much like you did. All the (wrong) clothes she brought!! On the train, when she brought some water to Hector, could be called "a baby step" to her caring for others. One thing, we would have liked to know some about her background. It was hard to believe she actually found Jean's father and, then, that she found Jean but we were glad she did. Frank was a favorite character, glad he, Mirielle and Jean got together and made a family. Yes, Mirielle certainly did change. ( )

This novel gave me an insight to how people with leprosy, Hansen's disease, were treated in the 20s. Mirielle, the main character, was not very likable at all in the beginning, the society wife who married a film star, but as the novel progressed, I enjoyed how she changed. I knew very little of any leper colony in the US or how it was handled. The book did drag in the middle to the point that I did some skimming. It certainly picked up as the end approached, although I did feel that the ending was rather abrupt. It's another example of what I imagine is an author's being told to write X number of pages and cutting off a book to meet that specification. I doubt that happens, but it seems that many books end this way. ( )

Mirielle Carver is a socialite from California mourning the death of her son Felix. She is diagnosed with leprosy and sent to the isolation camp in Carville Louisiana. At first she keep her distance from the other patients but gradualy she changes to find her own peace of mind. ( )