Positive Women: Voices of Women Living with AIDS

Anne Savoie is a youth counsellor in Anjou, Quebec.

This anthology, written and edited by women who are HIV-positive,
describes the experience of being HIV-positive and/or having AIDS. The
women are of various nationalities and express a wide range of
viewpoints on AIDS. Not all countries, for example, see it as the “gay
disease” it is commonly considered in North America. Most of the women
submitted written accounts of how AIDS has affected their lives, while
others contributed journals, poetry, drawings, or photographs.

The first international collection of its kind, this very personal and
intimate book encompasses a broad spectrum of personal reactions to
having HIV/AIDS. One woman may accept her diagnosis and live her life to
its fullest, while another may be devastated and unable to accept her
situation. The book is a valuable tool both for those working with
HIV/AIDS-infected people and for those who are diagnosed with the
disease. It makes for difficult but insightful reading.