Why Me? Interviews with Seven People with AIDS

by Margje Koster, Sheila Cassidy (Preface), Tony Langham (Translator)

Seven people living with AIDS talk about themselves and their lives. They tell what happened to them and how they learned to cope with living face to face with death.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Ema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each of the stories is very hard to read. They are all very touching yet not overly sentimental. Each story was very touching and strong, however the story of Soffia and particularly this part of it: "My mother has only known for a few months. We can only talk to each other on the telephone because she's afraid of flying, and I haven't been able to visit Panama for twenty-six years because I'd be put in prison. She cried on the telephone when I told her." really almost made me cry. Her story illustrates not only the prejudices she faces as an AIDS patient and the way she copes with having an illness that will kill her soon, it also illustrates the transphobia she faced in her life from her relatives, regular people in the streets or even police officers. Even though each person in this book faces death, their story is usually enpowing and it is admirable to see their strength.