• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

  • HOME
  • SHOP
  • ABOUT
  • FAQ
  • CONTACT

World AIDS Day: Recommended Reading

December 1, 2016 by WendyB

It’s World AIDS Day, and I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to mark the occasion by getting tested with Rihanna and Prince Harry.  But, even though I didn’t get to have my blood drawn with the beautiful people, I’m happy that the event illustrates how attitudes about AIDS have changed since 1987 when Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, scandalized the public by shaking hands with AIDS patients — without wearing gloves.

I’ve been thinking about how things were back in the day — before people knew how AIDS was transmitted and long before there were effective drug treatments — for weeks. First, there was the poor reporting about “Patient Zero” in October. Then, in November, I read New York Magazine’s excerpt from David France’s book, How to Survive a Plague. Truly heart-breaking, but you must read it to understand how devastating the disease was and how hard activists had to fight to get the treatments that eventually changed AIDS from a quick death sentence to a chronic, controllable disease.

I also recommend San Francisco Chronicle’s “Last Man Standing” project from earlier this year. This combination of print and digital stories and film movingly describes the continuing plight of San Francisco men who unexpectedly survived AIDS for decades.

Finally, you should check out my friend Maggie Kneip’s memoir, Now Everyone Will Know, which was published in time for last year’s World AIDS Day.

Click to purchase.

Click to purchase.

I know Maggie because her late husband, John Andrew, was an editor for the Wall Street Journal during the time MrB was there. John and Maggie had one young child and another on the way when John was diagnosed with AIDS in the early 1990s. Not only did Maggie have to deal with the trauma of John’s illness and death while caring for two young children (fortunately, she and the children weren’t infected), but she had to cope with the fact that he’d been living a double life that included unprotected sex with men. Because of the stigma of the disease, she kept the facts of John’s death as quiet as possible for decades. But now she’s speaking out and telling her story.

I interviewed Maggie about her book a full year ago and — I’m sad to say — never got to do the story I planned, so I was pleased to see her written about in the Huffington Post in October. I’m also happy that the book is #4 on the list of Amazon Kindle Motherhood Books. Now that I think of it, I’m going to listen again to the recording of my interview with Maggie and if it goes beyond the Huffington Post story, I’ll write something up. Better late than never, right?

You might also like
Throwback Thursday: Red Alert
The Handmaid's Tale and American Slavery
The Waiting Is the Hardest Part of Coachella

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, books Tagged With: david france, maggie kneip, world aids day

Previous Post: « #GivingTuesday
Next Post: Holiday Wish List »

Primary Sidebar

MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

ARCHIVES

CATEGORIES

Facebook Pagelike Widget

POPULAR TOPICS

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe for Email updates.
* indicates required

Original jewelry designs, photos and text are © Wendy Brandes 2007-2016. All rights reserved.

© 2016 · FOODIE PRO THEME COPYRIGHT BY · SHAY BOCKS GENESIS FRAMEWORK · BUILT ON THE WORDPRESS