Showing Cretan Saga by Beryl Darby

From Book 1: A compelling and true story of a young man who is diagnosed with leprosy. He is admitted to the local hospital for treatment and subsequently transferred to the hospital in Athens. The conditions in the hospital are appalling, overcrowding, lack of amenities, poor food, and only basic medication.

The inmates finally rebel, resulting in their exile to Spinalonga, a leper colony just across the water from Yannis's home village. This book tells the heart-rending account of his struggle for survival, his loves and losses, along with that of his family on the mainland from 1918 to 1979.

All the events that took place in the Athenian hospital and on Spinalonga are true. The characters are fictitious and there was never any question of embezzlement of hospital funds.