A Memoir of Kalaupapa
"The sand beach that stretches nearly a mile beyond the [Kalaupapa] wharf was always laid smooth by the tide. Hansen's disease plays havoc with feet, ulcerating them, crippling them. Such feet walk poorly. And in sand they cannot walk at all..."
When Henry Nalaielua was diagnosed with Hansen's disease in 1936 and taken from his home and family, he began a journey of exile that led him to Kalaupapa—the remote settlement with the tragic history on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. This is Henry's story—an unforgettable memoir of the boy who grew to build a full and joyous life at Kalaupapa, and still calls it home today. No Footprints in the Sand is one of only a few memoirs ever shared with the public by a Kalaupapa patient. Its intimacy and candor make it, in the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin, “a rare and precious human document.” Nalaielua’s story is an inspiring one; despite exile, physical challenges and the severing of family ties, he has faced life — as an artist, musician and historian — with courage, honesty, hope and humor.
Author: Henry Nalaielua, with Sally-Jo Bowman
Softcover
200pp
Publication Date: October 2006
