A World AIDS Day Reading List
World AIDS Day happens every year in December to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic and remember those who have lost their lives to the disease. It’s a good time to pick up a book or four about the history of HIV/AIDS. There are so many wonderful, heartbreaking, and informative books about HIV/AIDS out there—it’s hard to narrow down the list! These seven focus mostly on the AIDS crisis in the US. They include LGBTQIA memoirs, novels starring HIV positive characters, and histories written by those who lived through the AIDS crisis. These seven books will certainly help you brush up on your World AIDS Day history, but they’re also full of inspiring stories about the bravery and determination of ordinary citizens in the face of a terrifying crisis—worth a read any time of year.
In Love Is the Cure, Elton John recounts his life during the AIDS years, writing with moving honesty about the pain of losing so many friends. At the center of the book are stories about his friendships, both with celebrities like Freddy Mercury and with ordinary citizens like Ryan White, a young man from Indiana who was barred from his high school because of his HIV status. White's story inspired Elton John to start the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and he chronicles the history and work of the foundation in this book.
The AIDS crisis in America came at a time when the burgeoning LGBTQIA rights moment was just starting to get mainstream media attention. Even now, there's a common belief that gay liberation began at the Stonewall Inn, and that the 1970s were solely about sexual freedom. In Stand by Me, historian Jim Downs revisits the 1970s, drawing a more nuanced picture of gay life. Drawing on documents and records from LGBTQ community centers in major cities, he tells the stories of gay people all over the country who came together to build communities. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of gay liberation before, during, and after the AIDS crisis.
Like many other young gay people, Cleve Jones was drawn to San Francisco in the 1970s by the promise of sexual freedom and radical politics. When he got there, he found both community and purpose. Inspired by Harvey Milk, Jones dove into politics and was soon at the center of a growing LGBTQIA rights movement. In When We Rise, Jones recalls his life in activism, from his early days in San Francisco through the heartbreaking AIDS years. His moving stories about the beginnings of AIDS activism and his conception of the AIDS Memorial Quilt are an inspiring and crucial part of LGBTQIA—and American—history.
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