For young gay men who came of age in the United States in the 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was a formative experience in fear, hardship, and loss. Those who were diagnosed before 1996 suffered an exceptionally high rate of mortality, and the survivors -- both the infected individuals and those close to them -- today constitute a "bravest generation" in American history.
The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience examines the strategies for survival and coping employed by these HIV-positive gay men, who together constitute the first generation of long-term survivors of the disease. Through interviews conducted by the author, it narrates the stories of gay men who have survived since the early days of the epidemic; documents and delineates the strategies and behaviors enacted by men of this generation to survive it; and examines the extent to which these approaches to survival inform and are informed by the broad body of literature on resilience and health.
The stories and strategies detailed here, all used to combat the profound physical, emotional, and social challenges faced by those in the crosshairs of the AIDS epidemic, provide a gateway for understanding how individuals cope with chronic and life-threatening diseases. Halkitis takes readers on a journey of first-hand data collection (the interviews themselves), the popular culture representations of these phenomena, and his own experiences as one of the men of the AIDS generation.
This riveting account will be of interest to health practitioners and historians throughout the clinical and social sciences -- or to anyone with an interest in this important chapter in social history.
The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience examines the strategies for survival and coping employed by these HIV-positive gay men, who together constitute the first generation of long-term survivors of the disease. Through interviews conducted by the author, it narrates the stories of gay men who have survived since the early days of the epidemic; documents and delineates the strategies and behaviors enacted by men of this generation to survive it; and examines the extent to which these approaches to survival inform and are informed by the broad body of literature on resilience and health.
The stories and strategies detailed here, all used to combat the profound physical, emotional, and social challenges faced by those in the crosshairs of the AIDS epidemic, provide a gateway for understanding how individuals cope with chronic and life-threatening diseases. Halkitis takes readers on a journey of first-hand data collection (the interviews themselves), the popular culture representations of these phenomena, and his own experiences as one of the men of the AIDS generation.
This riveting account will be of interest to health practitioners and historians throughout the clinical and social sciences -- or to anyone with an interest in this important chapter in social history.
It's not that this was a bad book, not at all. In fact, it was an interesting look at the AIDS epidemic from the eyes of men who, while being HIV positive, did not yet get full-blown AIDS. I could tell how passionate Halkitis was about helping those with the disease, and his interviews with the men seemed to actually help them.
But I'm not a science person, at all, and the writing was very scientific. I wanted more from the actual stories of the men than I got, and was quickly sick of the repetition in the book. Some of the men were referenced more than others, and I sometimes had a hard time keeping them all straight. I think I also read the term "youth-obsessed culture" like five times over the span of two pages once. But at the same time, this is all personal preference. This isn't a novel, it's more along the same lines as a study published in an academic journal. It's not supposed to be artfully written.
The subject matter is fascinating, though, and I enjoyed reading about the AIDS epidemic from those who were involved in it but didn't perish. I especially liked the parts about the modern gay community, a community often romanticized or portrayed as this flawless, unconditionally accepting community when in reality, it's not anymore. In a lot of respects, the gay community in the 21st century is like mainstream society, in which youth is put on a pedestal and even 50 year olds are labelled as out of touch with reality and treated with disrespect despite whatever they've been through. It's all so depressingly vapid, and I felt bad for the men in the book for having to deal with this in even the place they once felt like they fit in. In some respects, they reminded me of WWII or Korea vets in nursing homes, though perhaps Vietnam might be a better comparison. Of course, I say all the above as a straight white girl, albeit one who has done her research.
So everything I got out of the book was great, but the process of reading it was painful, to say the least. I kind of hit that treadmill effect, in which I might spend an hour reading, and then look at my percent through counter of Kindle and see that I was basically back where I started. This was not an easy read for me, to say the least. That being said, I think this book would be fabulous for someone studying the AIDS epidemic, or someone who simply enjoys academic studies more than I do. To me, this was a classic case of great book, but just the wrong fit for someone like me.
7 out of 10
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