Shoes That Love Made

Paul Brand grew up in the Kolli Malai hills in India, spending his time up in tree branches and going all year, a barefoot and happy boy. He was determined never to leave India, never to wear shoes and never to be a doctor like his father – especially to lepers.

But before long, he was on his way to school in England, wearing shoes from dawn to dusk and fighting tooth and nail against learning medicine. Years passed, years with tragedy and challenges, until eventually Paul discovered that the God he loved and trusted had the best plan for his life. Paul came back to India with a medical degree and there were patients waiting for him – leprosy patients.

From then on he devoted his life to their care … even to the point of making them special shoes! Paul Brand’s work was influential in the cure and treatment of leprosy throughout the world. This life destroying disease under Paul’s loving care became something treatable and manageable. Lepers no longer needed to be outcasts. Paul’s faith in God, his love for mankind and his medical abilities gave those who suffered from leprosy a new life – and hope.

About the Author
Lucille Travis has written several books for children, held children's writing workshops, taught college-level English, and lectured in Christian literature. Her interest in writing began as young girl living in an orphanage in upstate New York, and was encouraged when she received a bronze medal in a state-wide essay contest and later a poetry contest.

One of her joys today is encouraging the efforts of young writers. She has also been involved in Children's Awana clubs as a story teller, and while telling the story of Dr. Paul Brand's work with lepers, especially his long search for shoes that would protect their feet, the idea for the book "The Shoes that Love Made" came about. The story of Paul Brand, missionary doctor to Lepers in India and eventually world-wide, shows us how Paul Brand's own feet were protected and guided even in war time on the very path he was to follow, one that would forever change how the world saw lepers.