CHICAGO — A generation is growing up thinking an AIDS diagnosis is no big deal, but the Center for Disease Control estimates that more than 1 in 2 young gay men will be HIV-positive by the time they’re 50 years old. The second book in Victoria Noe’s award-winning series on grieving the death of a friend, Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends, revisits a time when people with AIDS were targets of bigotry and discrimination.
In stories about Ryan White, ACT UP, the Names Project and more, Noe’s book proves why friends made all the difference: caregiving, memorializing and changing the way society confronts the medical establishment and government to demand action: actions that are needed again today.
“While medical advances in the past twenty years have enabled millions to live longer, there is a dangerous complacency that has led to a surge in new HIV infections, particularly among young gay men of color,” says Noe. “There is a critical need to educate young people to avoid a repeat of the devastating losses of the early days of the epidemic. I’m proud to be involved in ACT UP/NY, but I wish activism was no longer necessary.”
Windy City Times, noting Noe’s long history of being a straight ally to the LGBTQ community, said, “If you care about others, you have felt such grief and pain. These books can help us remember, and help us cope.” One Goodreads review suggested that it should be required reading in schools.
Victoria Noe’s work as a fundraiser in Chicago’s AIDS community in the 80’s and early 90’s inspired the book. She continues to speak out on AIDS prevention, treatment and discrimination. Her writing has appeared in Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post and Windy City Times’ “AIDS@30” series. In addition, Noe’s Web site, www.FriendGrief.com was one of 2012’s top 10 Grief and Loss websites.
Noe will be signing Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends June 1 at 7:00pm at Bureau of General Services/Queer Division, 83A Hester St., New York and June 7 from 10:00am-2:00pm at Printers Row Lit Fest (Chicago Writers Association) in Chicago.
Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends is available in paperback and e-book; 25 percent of sales benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
