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The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America
A thoughtful, poignant look at the AIDS crisis in the United States that includes primary source interviews, history, medical research, and cultural touchpoints.
The AIDS crisis in America is complex and composed of countless individual stories of grief, love, and advocacy. Its history shows the power of youth activism, how creativity and community can be vehicles for social change, and how bigotry and misinformation led to inequality in care.
The early days of the AIDS crisis saw LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities making strides in the fight for equality. As many people in positions of power were slow to act or actively didn’t pay attention until their own communities were affected, the fight for equality turned into a fight for their lives. Grassroots efforts filled in gaps where mainstream medicine and politics failed, and over time, a cultural shift of awareness emerged, which led to more research and more treatments. And while the disease has transitioned from a death sentence to one that people can live full lives with, there are still people dying of HIV/AIDS today because they can’t access the care they need. The fight may have begun decades ago, but is not yet over.
Award-winning author David Levithan and University of Cambridge PhD Gabriel Duckels detail a brief history of the epidemic, touching on key moments and figures, such as Ryan White, ACT UP, Larry Kramer and Anthony Fauci, Pedro Zamora from MTV’s The Real World, and the Names Quilt. Threaded throughout are poems, essays, and other creative works, in addition to first-person interviews and narratives. The most important takeaway is that we must remember. We need to know what happened and why. Our voices are powerful, and they can make a difference.
The AIDS crisis in America is complex and composed of countless individual stories of grief, love, and advocacy. Its history shows the power of youth activism, how creativity and community can be vehicles for social change, and how bigotry and misinformation led to inequality in care.
The early days of the AIDS crisis saw LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities making strides in the fight for equality. As many people in positions of power were slow to act or actively didn’t pay attention until their own communities were affected, the fight for equality turned into a fight for their lives. Grassroots efforts filled in gaps where mainstream medicine and politics failed, and over time, a cultural shift of awareness emerged, which led to more research and more treatments. And while the disease has transitioned from a death sentence to one that people can live full lives with, there are still people dying of HIV/AIDS today because they can’t access the care they need. The fight may have begun decades ago, but is not yet over.
Award-winning author David Levithan and University of Cambridge PhD Gabriel Duckels detail a brief history of the epidemic, touching on key moments and figures, such as Ryan White, ACT UP, Larry Kramer and Anthony Fauci, Pedro Zamora from MTV’s The Real World, and the Names Quilt. Threaded throughout are poems, essays, and other creative works, in addition to first-person interviews and narratives. The most important takeaway is that we must remember. We need to know what happened and why. Our voices are powerful, and they can make a difference.
480 pages, Library Binding
Published April 21, 2026
14 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
David Levithan
122 books19.5k followersDavid Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 22, 2026
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
The Fight of Our Lives is ultimately a book of stories — stories about those who lived and died with AIDS and who fought, often to the last breath, for the HIV treatments and access that we so take for granted today. The reason that we, in America, (perhaps wrongly) no longer consider AIDS to be a public health crisis is because of the literal blood, sweat, and tears sacrificed by an entire generation of men, women, and children who were forced to endure the ravages of a horrific disease without governmental or societal support. The book is a blend of starkly brutal facts mixed with stories of survivors, victims, artists, poets, medical professionals, and others to provide a honest, multi-faceted view of how AIDS changed the fabric of American culture and our understanding of a global health crisis.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
The Fight of Our Lives is ultimately a book of stories — stories about those who lived and died with AIDS and who fought, often to the last breath, for the HIV treatments and access that we so take for granted today. The reason that we, in America, (perhaps wrongly) no longer consider AIDS to be a public health crisis is because of the literal blood, sweat, and tears sacrificed by an entire generation of men, women, and children who were forced to endure the ravages of a horrific disease without governmental or societal support. The book is a blend of starkly brutal facts mixed with stories of survivors, victims, artists, poets, medical professionals, and others to provide a honest, multi-faceted view of how AIDS changed the fabric of American culture and our understanding of a global health crisis.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
December 31, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me a copy of this book. This is a comprehensive recollection of the AIDS epidemic that included some very powerful narratives as well. I absolutely enjoyed reading this.
May 12, 2026
The Fight of Our Lives is an in-depth, comprehensive text that covers the AIDS epidemic in America, spanning from 1978 up until the present day. The book takes a non-linear approach to describing the AIDS crisis, breaking up the timeline of events with chapters that highlight specific figures or events, such as Ryan White or the emergence of needle exchange programs. Levithan and Duckels have created an engaging and detailed narrative history, covering everything from the Reagan administration and its lack of response, to the work of activists all over the country, to famous figures that were a part of this time in history: Rock Hudson, Magic Johnson, Princess Diana, Pedro Zamora, and more. Interspersed throughout the text are also primary source stories, essays, and poems by individuals who either had AIDS or who had friends or family affected by AIDS or HIV. An extensive “Notes and Resources” section at the end of the book provides references for all of the research and sources used by Levithan and Duckels.
This book is a very important document regarding the AIDS epidemic. David Levithan tells us that he was inspired to write this book by his uncle, who was diagnosed with AIDS. He does such a good job documenting not only the timeline and important figures from this time period, but also on the voices of ordinary people The first-hand accounts he includes managed to be inspirational and heart-breaking, occasionally even funny. I learned so much about what it meant to live through the AIDS crisis, and how much HIV management and care has changed since the 1980s. Throughout the book, Levithan includes personal essays and what appear to be diary entries written by his late uncle (Robert), which keeps the story anchored to Levithan’s personal experience with AIDS. While it is still crucial to include the oftentimes devastating statistics and anecdotes of the early responses to the discovery of AIDS, it is the personal stories and recollections of the activists recorded in this book that provide hope to the reader. Along with the historical background on AIDS, the authors also include an extensive section on the symptoms of HIV, stress the importance of using condoms during sex to prevent its spread, and dispel common myths about AIDS and HIV. I also appreciated how the authors still made sure to not only acknowledge the existence of Black and Brown folks who were affected by AIDS, but to critique AIDS coverage that disproportionately focused only on cis white males, ignoring the minority communities who were affected as well. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
This book is a very important document regarding the AIDS epidemic. David Levithan tells us that he was inspired to write this book by his uncle, who was diagnosed with AIDS. He does such a good job documenting not only the timeline and important figures from this time period, but also on the voices of ordinary people The first-hand accounts he includes managed to be inspirational and heart-breaking, occasionally even funny. I learned so much about what it meant to live through the AIDS crisis, and how much HIV management and care has changed since the 1980s. Throughout the book, Levithan includes personal essays and what appear to be diary entries written by his late uncle (Robert), which keeps the story anchored to Levithan’s personal experience with AIDS. While it is still crucial to include the oftentimes devastating statistics and anecdotes of the early responses to the discovery of AIDS, it is the personal stories and recollections of the activists recorded in this book that provide hope to the reader. Along with the historical background on AIDS, the authors also include an extensive section on the symptoms of HIV, stress the importance of using condoms during sex to prevent its spread, and dispel common myths about AIDS and HIV. I also appreciated how the authors still made sure to not only acknowledge the existence of Black and Brown folks who were affected by AIDS, but to critique AIDS coverage that disproportionately focused only on cis white males, ignoring the minority communities who were affected as well. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book should be on every high school student’s must read list. Even adults should have to read this book. I was born in the mid 80s and grew up throughout the 90s and 2000s. I remember growing up that I always thought that contracting HIV meant a death sentence. I didn’t even realize that there were drugs that could make the virus undetectable in your blood until very recently.
Growing up, I knew of at least two people who had AIDS and died from it. It was hush-hush, a stigma. The adults that knew them were ashamed to associate with them.
This book opened my eyes to having a better understanding of the AIDS epidemic. I developed more empathy for those who suffered as a result of contracting the virus or knowing someone who died from it.
I appreciated the stories about individuals who were part of the fight for drugs to combat the virus, people who stood up for their rights, etc.
This book was very inspirational to me and taught me so much. I found myself constantly stopping to research and learn more and even seek out documentaries about it.
There were so many times I read excerpts to my husband.
The authors did a really good job of researching and wrote the book in such a way that it really pulls you in to that time, the desperation, the anger, the frustration and loneliness that this illness caused. But it also revealed hope in how people fought for a cause they believed in and helped to bring change about in our country.
Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance for my honest review.
Growing up, I knew of at least two people who had AIDS and died from it. It was hush-hush, a stigma. The adults that knew them were ashamed to associate with them.
This book opened my eyes to having a better understanding of the AIDS epidemic. I developed more empathy for those who suffered as a result of contracting the virus or knowing someone who died from it.
I appreciated the stories about individuals who were part of the fight for drugs to combat the virus, people who stood up for their rights, etc.
This book was very inspirational to me and taught me so much. I found myself constantly stopping to research and learn more and even seek out documentaries about it.
There were so many times I read excerpts to my husband.
The authors did a really good job of researching and wrote the book in such a way that it really pulls you in to that time, the desperation, the anger, the frustration and loneliness that this illness caused. But it also revealed hope in how people fought for a cause they believed in and helped to bring change about in our country.
Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance for my honest review.
April 9, 2026
A scrapbook, a compilation, a history, a call to action, a love letter. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this book before! And while the book’s arrangement could be a bit confusing (potentially since I read an ARC) the content is very important. I read it start to finish but it doesn’t follow a rigid linear structure so you could easily dip in a pit.
The book tells the history and personal stories of the effect of AIDS and HIV in America from the 1980s to the present. It highlights the raw stories of those who lived and died through it. It chronicles the activism, politics, research, and money that influenced all of the responses to this epidemic over time. It shows the absolute necessity of community and compassion for fellow humans to thrive.
I remember a few things about the trajectory of AIDS in our culture growing up, but the book is a testament to how easy it is to miss the most important parts of something like this. How certain voices and truths are ignored or suppressed. I learned a lot and am humbled by the experience.
The book tells the history and personal stories of the effect of AIDS and HIV in America from the 1980s to the present. It highlights the raw stories of those who lived and died through it. It chronicles the activism, politics, research, and money that influenced all of the responses to this epidemic over time. It shows the absolute necessity of community and compassion for fellow humans to thrive.
I remember a few things about the trajectory of AIDS in our culture growing up, but the book is a testament to how easy it is to miss the most important parts of something like this. How certain voices and truths are ignored or suppressed. I learned a lot and am humbled by the experience.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
An in-depth look at the rise of AIDS in America, how it was handled, the stigma, the early treatments. Hope, loss, devastation. Heartbreakingly told from the viewpoints of both victirms and survivors. Direct entries from diaries, newspapers, media coverage, and interviews lend itself to authenticity. No holding back. There’s little obvious bias. Both sides of the aisle are criticised for a lack of response. The definition of found family. The past, the present, and the endangered future told with unflinching honesty. Beautifully done.
I learned SO much reading this book. I was born during the AIDS epidemic, but it had become endemic in the US by the time I was aware of it. This book is so unique for nonfiction. It covers so many different sectors involved in or touched by AIDS, and each time it presents the time line again, but shows how that sector was responding to AIDS. I love that change in emphasis for relevance. It gave me a much better understanding of this illness, how people failed people, and the racism and bigotry inherit in the system.
A valuable read not just for AIDS, but to also highlight current problems in the healthcare system and bring warning about its future.
I learned SO much reading this book. I was born during the AIDS epidemic, but it had become endemic in the US by the time I was aware of it. This book is so unique for nonfiction. It covers so many different sectors involved in or touched by AIDS, and each time it presents the time line again, but shows how that sector was responding to AIDS. I love that change in emphasis for relevance. It gave me a much better understanding of this illness, how people failed people, and the racism and bigotry inherit in the system.
A valuable read not just for AIDS, but to also highlight current problems in the healthcare system and bring warning about its future.
May 3, 2026
A thorough, beautiful, devastating overview of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States, starting with the golden age of post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS gay life in the 1970s through the present day. So much historical detail interwoven thoughtfully with real testimony, writing and art from those impacted by the virus and the indescribable devastation it brought to generations of queer people, among others. I’ve read and watched works engaging with AIDS and have learned about the crisis from queer elders, but still took so much away from this book. I particularly value the wide reach of representation included, on many fronts — notably, elevating the voices and experiences of queer people of color, as well as including significantly impacted groups beyond queer people, such as those facing extreme poverty, homelessness, addiction, other medical complications and other factors which can lead to people experiencing marginalization and erasure.
November 10, 2025
The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America is one of the most important non-fiction texts for youth today. Authors David Levithan and Gabriel Duckels have created a comprehensive, accessible, and informative text documenting a great deal of history of AIDS in America, a topic often unfamiliar to younger people today. As a heads up, the book is 512 pages long, so it will be difficult to hand to just any student, but for the students who it will impact, it will greatly impact them. The chapters are short, featuring notable people, poetry, visuals from elements such as the AIDS quilt, timelines, and more. The topics and acronyms are all explained in an accessible way. The authors share a variety of angles to many topics, highlighting the complexity of the topic with care, seriousness, and, yes, optimism. I am thankful to have read this ARC offered by Net Galley and the publishers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was a stunning account of AIDS history in the United States. David Levithan is a master storyteller, and these stories blend so well into the timeline provided. Not that we should need an additional human element to understand how tragic this epidemic has been and continues to be, but these real accounts also provide a good break from the solid information we're being given to prevent this book from appearing too "textbook." This is a fantastic blend of poetry, stories, and fact that makes this digestible for any type of reader. I found myself b0okmarking so many pages to go back to later and share with others, and I can't wait to buy this book in print so I can do just that. This is such a necessary, timely read, and I'm so thankful to have gotten to read it in advance so I can sing its praises all the way to its publication date.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As someone who was a young teen during the ‘90’s, I was especially I touched by this book. I’ve read a lot of AIDS memoirs over the years, so it’s nice to see something modern and relevant come out for the younger generation. This is an important time in our history and I feel like the struggles that people went through are being forgotten, and they should not. The author does a beautiful job of telling people’s stories and reminding us of how hard so many people fought for their rights. So many lives were lost before their time, they should not be forgotten and their stories should remind us of how hard the queer community worked to achieve the basic human rights they deserve. Powerfully and beautifully written, I highly recommend it. I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.
November 25, 2025
Haven’t read this yet but hard to believe the other reviewers have either since it’s only being released as an ARC this week.
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Will update review when I finish the review copy of the book
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Will update review when I finish the review copy of the book
April 21, 2026
It covered a wide range of topics in a lot of different voices. I highly recommend the audio version. I learned a lot.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Happy publication day to this outstanding effort! Thanks to these authors for creating what is easily one of the most important books of not just the year but our time. I loved this and will be continuing to recommend it enthusiastically for a long, long time.
5 stars. Obviously.
Those of us who lived through this will never, NEVER be free of certain images, injustices, and pain, the likes of which we had not previously experienced and have not - fortunately - since the height of this epidemic. We have to compartmentalize. There was so much loss and so much devastation. We love and we remember, but all of these years later, it's still too much to manage at the forefront.
And then there is a whole new generation of folks who know but don't KNOW, and that's where Levithan and Duckels are really doing the work of the people.
This is, in a word, outstanding.
This book is full of information of all kinds, from timelines to details to soundbytes to missteps to literary expressions to articles to photos to personal anecdotes and more. In this moment, when the progress is more precarious than ever, it's time to circle back and remember what got us to act up in the first place.
This book cut me to the core and brought back a lot. It's also incredibly powerful, hopeful, and remarkable. It's for those many we lost, for those many we did not and are still holding onto, and for those to come.
I will be enthusiastically recommending this to everyone everywhere all at once. What a gift.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this exceptional arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
5 stars. Obviously.
Those of us who lived through this will never, NEVER be free of certain images, injustices, and pain, the likes of which we had not previously experienced and have not - fortunately - since the height of this epidemic. We have to compartmentalize. There was so much loss and so much devastation. We love and we remember, but all of these years later, it's still too much to manage at the forefront.
And then there is a whole new generation of folks who know but don't KNOW, and that's where Levithan and Duckels are really doing the work of the people.
This is, in a word, outstanding.
This book is full of information of all kinds, from timelines to details to soundbytes to missteps to literary expressions to articles to photos to personal anecdotes and more. In this moment, when the progress is more precarious than ever, it's time to circle back and remember what got us to act up in the first place.
This book cut me to the core and brought back a lot. It's also incredibly powerful, hopeful, and remarkable. It's for those many we lost, for those many we did not and are still holding onto, and for those to come.
I will be enthusiastically recommending this to everyone everywhere all at once. What a gift.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this exceptional arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
~~Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the ARC!~~
Once again, former president Ronald Reagan is proven to be the second worst president to have plagued our nation.
But, in all seriousness, this is probably the most important piece of nonfiction I've read this year, if not of all time.
As a queer person, I've had some vague knowledge about HIV/AIDs through its massive impact on the queer community, the main reason why there's not many queer elders as there should be. I also began to garner an interest in the history for personal reasons, so this book came exactly at the right time for me. Leviathan and Duckels gave me exactly what I needed and so much more.
The history is both heartwrenching and aggravating. It cites stories from real people with diagnoses or had strong connections to the virus, weaving tales that hurt so much to read when you know the tragedy was real. It also makes you so angry because all of this could have been shortened if not for the hatred, discrimination, and blatantly fabricated stigma, most notably from the members of the U.S. government, that attached itself to the disease. Despite that, this book strongly emphasizes time and time that HIV/AIDs doesn't define a person, and it's no longer the death sentence as it was when it was first named. It's really beautiful.
Everyone should read this book, whether you're queer or not, because HIV/AIDs doesn't discriminate when it comes to who it affects. Education in the U.S. is already at its lowest, and with people still carrying the stigma and misconceptions about the virus, it's more important than ever to have the knowledge to empower yourself.
Once again, former president Ronald Reagan is proven to be the second worst president to have plagued our nation.
But, in all seriousness, this is probably the most important piece of nonfiction I've read this year, if not of all time.
As a queer person, I've had some vague knowledge about HIV/AIDs through its massive impact on the queer community, the main reason why there's not many queer elders as there should be. I also began to garner an interest in the history for personal reasons, so this book came exactly at the right time for me. Leviathan and Duckels gave me exactly what I needed and so much more.
The history is both heartwrenching and aggravating. It cites stories from real people with diagnoses or had strong connections to the virus, weaving tales that hurt so much to read when you know the tragedy was real. It also makes you so angry because all of this could have been shortened if not for the hatred, discrimination, and blatantly fabricated stigma, most notably from the members of the U.S. government, that attached itself to the disease. Despite that, this book strongly emphasizes time and time that HIV/AIDs doesn't define a person, and it's no longer the death sentence as it was when it was first named. It's really beautiful.
Everyone should read this book, whether you're queer or not, because HIV/AIDs doesn't discriminate when it comes to who it affects. Education in the U.S. is already at its lowest, and with people still carrying the stigma and misconceptions about the virus, it's more important than ever to have the knowledge to empower yourself.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews