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UNSTOPPABLE: Straight Women on the AIDS Frontlines
In Straight Women on the AIDS Frontlines, Victoria Noe returns to the subject of her award-winning 2019 book F*g Hags, Divas and The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community. But this time, the author focuses on the shifting public health environment of today.
Showcasing candid personal interviews that are complemented by extensive research, Unstoppable highlights the critical work of straight women to end the epidemic. Also explored are their responses to new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the second Trump administration’s dismantling of HIV services, research, and treatment. How do they respond to the erasure of their accomplishments? Is the goal of ending the epidemic by 2030 no longer possible?
They are frustrated, exhausted, angry but determined. And they're not giving up.
Because they’re unstoppable.
Showcasing candid personal interviews that are complemented by extensive research, Unstoppable highlights the critical work of straight women to end the epidemic. Also explored are their responses to new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the second Trump administration’s dismantling of HIV services, research, and treatment. How do they respond to the erasure of their accomplishments? Is the goal of ending the epidemic by 2030 no longer possible?
They are frustrated, exhausted, angry but determined. And they're not giving up.
Because they’re unstoppable.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 16, 2025
About the author
Victoria Noe
10 books27 followersI’ve been a writer most of my life, but didn’t admit it until 2009.
After earning a master’s degree in Speech and Dramatic Art from the University of Iowa, I moved to Chicago, where I worked professionally as a stage manager, director and administrator in addition to being a founding board member of the League of Chicago Theatres.
I discovered I was good at fundraising, and ventured out on my own, raising millions for arts, educational and AIDS service organizations, and later became an award-winning sales consultant of children’s books.
But when a concussion ended my sales career, I decided to finally keep a promise to a dying friend to write a book.
That book became a series of small books - "Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives A Damn"; "Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends"; "Friend Grief and 9/11: The Forgotten Mourners"; "Friend Grief and the Military: Band of Friends"; "Friend Grief in the Workplace: More Than an Empty Cubicle"; and the final book in the series, "Friend Grief and Men: Defying Stereotypes".
2019 brought the publication of an ambitious book that grew out of my own experiences. "Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community", the first book to chronicle the achievements of these women. It has been honored with a bronze medallion from Readers Favorite 2020 International Awards, a B.R.A.G. medallion, and finalist for A&U Magazine's 2019 Book of the Year Award.
I’m a card-carrying member of Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), Nonfiction Authors Association, Chicago Writers Association, and ACT UP/NY (just kidding – we don’t have membership cards in ACT UP/NY).
My awards include the 2015 Christopher Hewitt Award for Creative Nonfiction for my essay, "Long-Term Survivor".
My articles have appeared on a variety of grief and writing blogs as well as Windy City Times, Chicago Tribune and Huffington Post. I have no fear of public speaking and have made presentations to such diverse organizations as Open Hand San Francisco, Book Expo America, Mt. Sinai Hospital HIV Rounds, and libraries around the midwest and New York state.
A native St. Louisan, I’m a lifelong Cardinals fan and will gladly take on any comers in musical theatre trivia.
You can follow me on my website, www.VictoriaNoe.com and on Instagram @victorianoe1131.
After earning a master’s degree in Speech and Dramatic Art from the University of Iowa, I moved to Chicago, where I worked professionally as a stage manager, director and administrator in addition to being a founding board member of the League of Chicago Theatres.
I discovered I was good at fundraising, and ventured out on my own, raising millions for arts, educational and AIDS service organizations, and later became an award-winning sales consultant of children’s books.
But when a concussion ended my sales career, I decided to finally keep a promise to a dying friend to write a book.
That book became a series of small books - "Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives A Damn"; "Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends"; "Friend Grief and 9/11: The Forgotten Mourners"; "Friend Grief and the Military: Band of Friends"; "Friend Grief in the Workplace: More Than an Empty Cubicle"; and the final book in the series, "Friend Grief and Men: Defying Stereotypes".
2019 brought the publication of an ambitious book that grew out of my own experiences. "Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community", the first book to chronicle the achievements of these women. It has been honored with a bronze medallion from Readers Favorite 2020 International Awards, a B.R.A.G. medallion, and finalist for A&U Magazine's 2019 Book of the Year Award.
I’m a card-carrying member of Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), Nonfiction Authors Association, Chicago Writers Association, and ACT UP/NY (just kidding – we don’t have membership cards in ACT UP/NY).
My awards include the 2015 Christopher Hewitt Award for Creative Nonfiction for my essay, "Long-Term Survivor".
My articles have appeared on a variety of grief and writing blogs as well as Windy City Times, Chicago Tribune and Huffington Post. I have no fear of public speaking and have made presentations to such diverse organizations as Open Hand San Francisco, Book Expo America, Mt. Sinai Hospital HIV Rounds, and libraries around the midwest and New York state.
A native St. Louisan, I’m a lifelong Cardinals fan and will gladly take on any comers in musical theatre trivia.
You can follow me on my website, www.VictoriaNoe.com and on Instagram @victorianoe1131.
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