Who Walk Alone, first published in 1940, is author Perry Burgess' moving account of the life of Ned Langford, then a patient at the leper colony on Culion Island, Philippines (known as the "Sanctuary of Sorrow"). Langford had first gone to the Philippines as a volunteer in the Spanish-American War, and while there fell in love with a Filipino girl named Carita. Two years later, when back in America, Langford learned that Carita's brother had contracted leprosy, and nine years after that, Langford learned that he, too, was a victim of the disease. He underwent a year of treatment in New York; then chose exile to the Culion colony, where he was to spend the next 25 years. During that time, he helped organize work and businesses in the community, and married Carita, herself ill with leprosy (and later cured). Who Walk Alone remains a classic account of conditions in a leper colony (before modern-day treatments were known), as well as a source of inspiration, hope, and courage when faced with what could have been overwhelming adversity.
