From School Library Journal
YA?A compelling account of the experiences of a heterosexual couple grappling with HIV, AIDS, and death. In a series of diary entries, HIV patient Janice Burns recounts her long courtship and marriage to brilliant, handsome Bill. When they married, life could not have been more idyllic: careers progressed successfully; family and friends provided supportive and fun-loving connections; and Janice dreamed of having a daughter named Sarah. In their third year of marriage, the couple received the devastating dual diagnosis of HIV. The author is forthright in divulging the cause of the disease; her fear of disclosure to her parents and friends; and her feelings of betrayal, anger, and immobilizing fear. In this personal, courageous account, YAs will watch teenage infatuation blossom into mature spiritual devotion in the face of tragedy. They are also given a glimpse of a rare physician who allows himself to feel the pain of his patients and forfeit cold clinical objectivity. Readers are privy to descriptions of insidious infections, harrowing treatments, and finally the details of Bill's death. There is good information here about how the disease is contracted and how HIV is treated. When new information has been obtained since the journal entries, footnotes provide medical updates. Readers of Janice's journal will never have to say when Bill did: "Nobody told me about it. I didn't know."?Jackie Gropman, Kings Park, Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Amazingly touching. This was a fabulous book. So real and so sad.
YA?A compelling account of the experiences of a heterosexual couple grappling with HIV, AIDS, and death. In a series of diary entries, HIV patient Janice Burns recounts her long courtship and marriage to brilliant, handsome Bill. When they married, life could not have been more idyllic: careers progressed successfully; family and friends provided supportive and fun-loving connections; and Janice dreamed of having a daughter named Sarah. In their third year of marriage, the couple received the devastating dual diagnosis of HIV. The author is forthright in divulging the cause of the disease; her fear of disclosure to her parents and friends; and her feelings of betrayal, anger, and immobilizing fear. In this personal, courageous account, YAs will watch teenage infatuation blossom into mature spiritual devotion in the face of tragedy. They are also given a glimpse of a rare physician who allows himself to feel the pain of his patients and forfeit cold clinical objectivity. Readers are privy to descriptions of insidious infections, harrowing treatments, and finally the details of Bill's death. There is good information here about how the disease is contracted and how HIV is treated. When new information has been obtained since the journal entries, footnotes provide medical updates. Readers of Janice's journal will never have to say when Bill did: "Nobody told me about it. I didn't know."?Jackie Gropman, Kings Park, Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Amazingly touching. This was a fabulous book. So real and so sad.
