HIV Youth Project | A site for youth, by youth

We have gathered a list of recommended readings.

Blue Pills is from one of Europe’s most acclaimed young comics artists, a deeply personal story that will resonate with all of us who have chosen to love in the face of great challenges. One summer night at a house party, Fred met Cati. Though they barely spoke, he vividly remembered her gracefulness and abandon. They meet again years later, and this time their connection is instantaneous. But when things become serious, a nervous Cati tells him that she and her three-year-old son are both HIV positive. With great beauty and economy, Peeters traces the development of their intimacy and their revelatory relationship with a doctor whose affection and frankness allow them to fully realize their passionate connection. Then Catis son gets sick, bringing Fred face to face with death. It forces him to question the meaning of life, illness, and love — until a Socratic dialogue with a mammoth helps him recognize that living with illness is also a gift; it has freed him to savor his life with Cati. As in the best graphic memoirs, Blue Pills puts into art and human terms a daunting subject in a way that is refreshingly honest and profoundly accessible. A brave and unsentimental romance, Blue Pills will resonate with anyone whose love has faced great obstacles and triumphed.

The First Year: HIV is a guide specifically written for those newly diagnosed with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), by HIV-positive patient advocate Brett Grodeck who himself has lived with the virus for the past fifteen years. In accessible and plain terms ideal for the non-specialist general reader, individual chapters cover support group resources, advice and strategies for making the needed changes to one’s lifestyle, words of wisdom and caution about discussing the issue of one’s HIV status with friends and co-workers, the latest medical research, the option of having HIV-negative children even if one is a HIV-positive man or woman, and more. If you or a loved one is having to deal with the medical and social issues of being HIV positive, then this is the book you should begin your personal research with.

The Guide to Living with HIV Infection is a revised edition of the widely praised, comprehensive handbook and reference for people living with HIV infection and their families, friends, and caregivers ( LJ 7/91). It remains an outstanding mainstream resource. Reflecting the epidemiology of the spread of HIV infection in society, this revised edition, which carries the title page imprimatur “developed at the Johns Hopkins AIDS Clinic,” gives more attention to HIV and women, HIV and tuberculosis, and some newer drugs and their side effects. Still, a close comparison of the texts reveals only minor changes with little compelling reason to replace editions. Libraries requiring the most current HIV/AIDS information are dependent on the serial and electronic literature in this fast and ever-changing research field.

100 Q&A About AIDS and HIV provides answers to the most common questions asked by people with HIV and AIDS, their partners, and their family members. Written by an internationally recognized HIV expert from Johns Hopkins University with commentary by two HIV-positive patients, this is an invaluable resource for people with HIV infection or for those who care about them. It also includes useful information for HIV-negative readers on prevention and testing. It is written in language that is easy to understand, with a touch of the humor and irreverence well known to the readers of Dr. Gallant’s Patient Forum on the Johns Hopkins HIV Guide website.