The Lands of Father Damien: Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii

by James H. Brocker

This story takes place at an isolated peninsula located on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was on this insignificant splinter of land that people who were deathly ill and free of any crimes against nature or mankind were banished to spend their lives segregated from all civilized society. Forced from their families and stripped of dignity, these men, women and children came from all races, religions and walks of life. Over the last 130 years there have been many strangers who came freely to these lonely shores and brought compassion, assistance and self-respect. Foremost among those was one whose destiny it was to achieve greatness by his humble efforts to relieve and ultimately share the pain of his fellow man. This Roman Catholic priest is known to the world as Father Joseph Damien deVeuster. As the last of his people and the 20th Century fade into memory, the human tragedy that occurred here must be left as a reminder for all time of man's injustice to his own. The chronicle of suffering and loneliness within these pages belongs to each and every one of those exiled to the Kalaupapa Peninsula over the decades, and it is for them that this story is told....

135 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

Reviews

[Briana Grenert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome information, awesome/well chosen pictures. I read this very recently after I returned from a trip to Kalaupapa, and found it very moving.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book to do research on Kalaupapa, expecting a history of Father Damien's work on Molokai with Hansen's Disease sufferers. This is not, however, an academic work by any means. It's really more of a picture book and basic introduction to today's Kalaupapa settlement and its surrounding areas.

I did however enjoy reading what is probably the authoritative work on the Kalaupapa area today and how it operates. Unexpected but useful data for my project. Photographs are excellent. Writing is poor and the book suffers from a lack of an editor, but taken for what it's worth, a potentially useful book depending on the type of information you're seeking.