Nutrition and HIV: A New Model for Treatment

Book Description

Treating HIV with Nutrition

Nutrition and HIV addresses the issues of nutrition and HIV from the perspective of the patient as well as the physician. Everyone who is interested in the problems of--and solutions to--nutritional therapy in HIV owes it to themselves to read this book.
--Paul A. Volberding, M.D., director, Center for AIDS Research, San Francisco

This reference book offers a sound nutritional model for sustaining and improving quality of life for HIV positive men and women. It outlines an easy-to-follow program for the prevention and treatment of weight loss--a common problem that if left untreated could lead to serious health decline or even death.

Customer Reviews:

Definitely a must have book!.......1999-07-20

This book helps affected/infected individual understand the nutritional needs of the body and also goes on to describe many other aspects of HIV. This book is definitely a must have for HIV+ individuals and caregivers/supporters.

A must read for those with HIV & for their support system........1999-03-12

Dr.Romeyn has addressed one of the most serious problems facing people with HIV, the devastating bodily wasting that occurs in those struggling with the effects of this disease. Her work is a comprehensive approach to nutritional treatment. She is articulate and yet not patronizing. Her concern and compassion for those who suffer from this dissease is quite apparent. I believe those who see her in her private practice are most fortunate. I am grateful for her work, and have given copies of this book to several men and women both in the parish and in the community at large.There is a great need in the larger community for this quality of information. I highly recommend it.

Good book, but..........1999-01-09

This is an informative book. However, it did not meet my expectations.It even gets boring sometimes. However, it is a good book to have if you are interested in learning more about vitamins and minerals, and their effect with HIV/AIDS.

excellent for physician, patient, or friend.......1998-11-07

I found this book to be an excellent resource to provide both an overview of the HIV/AIDS disease process, and to help formulate a plan for one's management and care. As a third year medical student, I am often presented with only the pathology and epidemiology of a disease or illness, and left to invision the person afflicted on my own. Dr. Romeyn helped to put a face on both the person/patient affected, as well as the physician actively caring for them. In addition, she still managed to convey the essentials that anyone - physician, patient, or friend - should know and understand. This is a very helpful book.

Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases: A Molecular & Cellular Approach

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Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases: A Molecular & Cellular Approach
Hans D. Ochs , C. I. Edward Smith , and Jennifer M. Puck
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 019514774X

Book Description

The second edition of Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases presents discussions of gene identification, mutation detection, and clinical and research applications for over 100 genetic immune disorders--disorders featuring an increased susceptibility to infections and, in certain conditions, an icreased rate of malignancies and autoimmune disorders. Since the publication of the first edition, a flurry of new disease entities has been defined and new treatment regimens have been introduced, the most spectacular being successful treatment by gene therapy for two genotypes of combined immunodeficiency. The first edition marked a historic turning point in the field of immunodeficiencies, demonstrating that many of the disorders of the immune systam could be understood at a molecular level. This new edition can proudly document the tremendous pace of progress in dissecting the complex immunologic networks responsible for protecting individuals from these disorders.

Opportunistic Intracellular Bacteria and Immunity (Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis)

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Opportunistic Intracellular Bacteria and Immunity (Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0306458942

Book Description

Opportunistic, intracellular bacterial infections are in the forefront of research today because of the challenges they present to the immunocompromised patient. In this volume, the pathogenesis and immune reaction of these intracellular infections is featured, as are the most typical problems related to antimicrobial chemotherapy, and current approaches to their solution. Notable chapters set the pace for research on the pathogenic and immune reactions to such infections as Mycobacterium tuberculosis Legionella pneumophila Chlamydia trachomatis and Brucella.

AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame

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Reading this book will change your life
One of the 4-Hs shouldn't be.
Informative and thought provoking
Informative and thought provoking

AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame
Paul Farmer
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues
Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (California Series in Public Anthropology, 4)
The Uses Of Haiti
Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa
Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil (Centennial Book)

ASIN: 0520248392

Book Description

Does the scientific "theory" that HIV came to North America from Haiti stem from underlying attitudes of racism and ethnocentrism in the United States rather than from hard evidence? Award-winning author and anthropologist-physician Paul Farmer answers with this, the first full-length ethnographic study of AIDS in a poor society. First published in 1992 this new edition has been updated and a new preface added.

Customer Reviews:

Reading this book will change your life.......2002-08-08

Farmer's excellent historical ethnography of Haitian illness (as seen through the contemporary context of the world AIDS epidemic), proves the necessity of developing anthropological approaches to understanding health systems and implementing medical care. The diagnosis and analysis of sickness, disease, illness, and treatment should go hand-in-hand with the cultural understanding of local systems of blame, accusation, causation, and cure. Where most approaches to medicine are based on the "Westernized" first-world nations' understanding of the causes of illness (tainted as well, as Farmer shows, by systematic "blame the victim" and shame techniques), the adoption of these approaches in treating the illnesses of other peoples can be catastrophic. Three ethnographies make up the structure of a detailed historical inquiry )

The longstanding tradition of conceiving of illness through the lens of powerlessness shapes the contemporary lives of the people in Haiti with whom Farmer worked. Although they could see the effects of the illness, people in this region were obsessed with the cause of the illness, and felt the need to understand AIDS through a constructed narrative of blame. A deep belief in their religion led villagers to look for the source of witchcraft that could possibly be harming them, and elaborate stories about neighbors, jealousies, and rivalries flourished as a result. Any improvement in the standing of one member of the society (through wealth, status, relationships, acquisition of property or food, or political power through employment or marriage) adds to the structure of distrust and blame.

Farmer's book shows how disturbingly complex and deep the layers of mistrust, misinformation, and the effects of racism, are. Among the medical hypotheses for the probable exposure is the theory of Haitian sex-workers' contacts through gay tourists to the early strains of HIV. Farmer outlines the long history of Haiti as a gay tourist attraction, and Duvalier's encouragement of tourism as a boost to the domestic economy. Although the possible cause of the gay sex trade for HIV exposure has not been confirmed, medical establishments in the U.S. based their theories of causation on other factors, such as Haitian religious practices. These theories were, in truth, reinforcing longstanding ignorance and racist misunderstandings about Haitian vodou. Stereotypes and racial profiling of Haitian citizenship as a "risk factor" (one of the "Four H's" along with hemophiliac, homosexual, and heroin user), contributed to public policies against Haitian immigrants. Haitians' belief that they are being attacked by some evil sorcery in the guise of a fatal illness called sida falls into place amidst the context of extreme antagonism and injustice.

While reading this book, I was compelled to ask myself if there isn't some truth in Haitians' understanding of AIDS as the result of malicious sorcery. Haiti was the only American society to successfully result from the direct action of a revolution against slavery and colonialism. As such, the small nation governed by creoles and black ex-slaves presented a threat to North and South American colonial societies, which were firmly entrenched in slave labor economic systems. Historically, the threat of a repeat of the Haitian revolution must have terrified white European landowners. This terror of African power and strength has been passed on in a racist legacy, adapted to political policies and nationalist agendas, and still exists in ignorant beliefs about AIDS and its causes. Haitians believe that they are victims of a longstanding racist agenda, and they may in fact be right. Farmer's book begins to illuminate some of the complicated historical and ethnographic realities of the overlapping connections between illness and racism, and between causes and effects.

One of the 4-Hs shouldn't be........2000-02-05

This book dispels the common myths of Haitians and AIDS. It also shows very clearly the heavy involvement of the United States in creating the poverty Haiti has faced. This book makes use of statistics well, but unfortunately, at this point those stats are many years old. When Farmer wrote this book, only three people in the village of Do Kay had died of AIDS. Now, with huge percentages of Haitians exposed to HIV, the picture must certainly look different. This book is a geat candidate for a revised edition some time in the future.

Informative and thought provoking.......2000-01-04

I read this book for a medical anthropology class and found it incredibly interesting in its discussion of the politics and racism involved in the US treatment of AIDS in Haiti. It delves into how the American presence and influences lead to and exasperated the widespread AIDS and poverty problems in Haiti.

Informative and thought provoking.......2000-01-04

The HIV Pandemic: Local and Global Implications

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The HIV Pandemic: Local and Global Implications

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198528434

Book Description

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the first recognition of HIV/AIDS in 1981, this book reflects on the international impact of the disease. It has persistently remained a global issue, with more than 50 million people worldwide estimated to have been infected since that date. This ambitious book, written by 165 authors from 30 countries, offers a multi-country comparative study that examines how the response to the common, global threat of HIV is shaped by the history, culture, institutions and health systems of the individual countries affected. Increasingly the shift of health systems has been from prevention only as the main containment strategy, to a strategy that includes scaling up HIV treatment, and care and prevention services, including antiretroviral therapy. Thus, all parts of the health system must be involved; policy makers, healthcare professionals and users of the services have been forced to think differently about how services are financed, how resources are allocated, how systems are structured and organized, how services are delivered to patients, and how the resulting activity is monitored and evaluated in order to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, equity and acceptability of the response. This book is unique in attempting to describe and assess a range of responses across the globe by situating them within the characteristics of each country and its health system. Most chapters combine a health policy expert with an HIV specialist, allowing both a 'top down' health system approach and a 'bottom up' HIV-specific perspective. There are thematic and analytical sections, which provide an overview and some suggestions for solutions to the most serious outstanding issues, and chapters which analyse specific country and organisational responses. There is no perfect health system, but the evidence provided here allows the sharing of knowledge, and a opportunity to assess the impact and reactions, to an epidemic that must be considered a long term issue.

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The Medical Management of AIDS
Merle A. Sande , and Paul A. Volberding
Manufacturer: Saunders
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0721681026

Book Description

The best-selling text on AIDS in the world has been completely revised and updated in this 6th Edition to reflect the most current information. This user-friendly book furnishes health care providers and clinicians with all the relevant information needed to effectively care for HIV-infected individuals. This edition includes important coverage of several new antiretroviral drugs and tests for quantitating viral load, which have the potential to significantly slow the progression of the HIV virus and prolong survival. Also delivers coverage of obstetrics, pediatric and adult patients, issues unique to women, alternative therapies, and the psychiatric manifestations of HIV.

Science Sold Out: Does HIV Really Cause AIDS?

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Too much emotion. Too few facts.
Science Sell Out
Essential reading
Tells the truth by examining the facts....
The Confused Mathematician

Science Sold Out: Does HIV Really Cause AIDS?
Rebecca Culshaw
Manufacturer: North Atlantic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Serious Adverse Events: An Uncensored History of AIDS
The Origin, Persistence and Failings of HIV/AIDS Theory
Inventing the AIDS Virus
Oncogenes, Aneuploidy, and AIDS: A Scientific Life and Times of Peter H. Duesberg
Wrongful Death: The AIDS Trial

ASIN: 1556436424
Release Date: 2007-01-02

Book Description

There are many well-established scientific reasons that the HIV/AIDS hypothesis is highly doubtful. In Science Sold Out, Rebecca Culshaw describes her slow uncovering of these reasons over her years researching HIV for her work constructing mathematical models of its interaction with the immune system. It is rare that a researcher who has received funding to study HIV ever expresses any doubt in the paradigm, and an even rarer event still when she abandons the field altogether. This book focuses on the changing definition of AIDS and the flaws in all HIV testing. In a much broader sense, it explains how the current, government-based structure of scientific research has corrupted science as the search for truth. It offers not only scientific reasons for HIV/AIDS being untenable, but also sociological explanations as to how the theory was accepted by the media and the world so quickly. In particular, this book offers a scathing criticism of the outrageous discriminatory measures that have been leveled at HIV-positives from the inception.

Customer Reviews:

Too much emotion. Too few facts........2007-10-01

This book is very disturbing. Its disturbing there are people who will read this book and make decisions about their health because of it. Living with HIV and even AIDS is reality for lots of people today, and this kind of pseudo-science doesn't make it any easier for them. Alot of people also don't have a science education to know they are being deceived by HIV deniers who "sound" like scientists.
If you want good information you go to an expert. This author is not an expert. The "detailed scientific jargon" another reviewer talks about in this book isn't even used right by the author. She is a mathematician. She is not a biologist or a doctor. She substitutes strong emotions and shrill language about this subject for good reasoning and facts. I am a scientist myself and I don't know how she gets so much wrong in such a small book.
Please if you want accurate information about HIV look somewhere else. An amateur who knows just enough to screw up the facts royally is not a reliable source.

Science Sell Out.......2007-09-28

This book scares me. I read this book for a class and I will have to say that it has the potential to be quite dangerous to those who are in some way affected by HIV/AIDS and are seeking some sort of hope. With the use of mathematical figures and detailed scientific jargon, the author has created what appears to be a valid proposition--that contains half an argument. In an attempt to break the connection between HIV and AIDS, Culshaw has done little more than discuss the weaknesses of the HIV/AIDS correlation. However, it must be pointed out that Culshaw herself does say that there is no current understanding of AIDS which leads me to believe that her theory is based on what she does not understand. Overall, the book is skeptical at best and relies too heavily on repetitious points, mathematical figures, and scientific jargon that does little more than confuse and possibly impress readers. After reading the book I was left with a sense of discontent because I felt that the only thing she truly proved was that there is still a lot of research left to be done in the fields of HIV and AIDS--which should come to a shock to no one. I believe that the book is a bit reckless in its presentation of "fact" and "fiction," especially coming from a member of the scientific community. I would not recommend this book, but if you read it please approach it with caution.

Essential reading.......2007-05-13

A great follow up to Peter Duesbergs "Inventing The Aids Virus" or as an eye opener for the uninitiated. This book is well researched and easy to read with some great insights and facts to show how ridiculous the HIV/AIDS hypothesis really is. She goes on to say that the HIV/AIDS juggernaut has become so big and powerful that there may be no way to stop it. I sincerely hope she is wrong about that, but it will not be easy.
Ed Stratford.

Tells the truth by examining the facts...........2007-04-14

Science has indeed sold out and this book outlines the horrifying events that have resulted. Is it any wonder, considering how corporatized our culture has become, that Science too would fall prey to the almighty bottom line. The brand of science used in support of HIV is highly specious and has far more in common with religious dogma than with real science, and Dr. Culshaw brilliantly and succinctly exposes that dogma, at every turn.

The previous reviewer (Kate Volpe) is typical of the AIDS apologists frequently described in the book. Her review employs the cliched propaganda of the status quo in a pathetic attempt to malign Dr. Culshaw's character, while carefully neglecting to deal the many salient issues that this book boldly addresses. Such underhanded tactics seem to be the norm when one defends HIV, for its also seems that the theory has proven to be quite devoid of tangible explanatory value. Furthermore, Ms. Volpe's exaggerated incredulity is simply appalling, and I shudder to think of a future where there are no more people still buying "these kind of books", for many more of these kinds of books - books that reveal unpopular truths - will be necessary if we are to have hope for the future, given the present state of things. Regardless, we need to restore rigor and objectivity to Science, and we can only do that by honestly assessing its present unsound condition. Removing the numerous conflicts of interests that are exemplar in HIV science is a good place to start.

Of course, we could all go merrily along our way, mindlessly believing the pollyanna spewed forth by rubes like Ms. Volpe, but I'll think we'll all be better served if there is a public examination of the disputed "facts" used in support of HIV. Either way, I'll personally continue to require my facts to be a product of the evidence, unfettered by preconceived expectations and most certainly not mere statements of faith based on a corrupt consensus. That said, let's compare Ms. Volpe's notion of "fact" to Ms. Culshaw's.

Ms. Volpe writes:

"The facts are that HIV treatment is remarkably effective and has given people with HIV a new lease on life. The facts are that our focus now is getting these effective medications to the developing world, to the millions of children and adults who will die otherwise."

Contrast that fact-less tripe with the following quote from the book that we are presently reviewing:

"So healthy people stay healthy for a while and this is credited to the drugs--but there is no evidence to say that they would not have remained healthy even if they never took any medication at all. This is due to the fact that clinical trials of "anti-HIV" drugs rarely if ever use placebo controls, so there is no way to determine whether, for example, nevirapine is better than nothing...activists and researchers alike defend this fundamentally unscientific notion by saying that denying toxic drugs to HIV-positives is "unethical". "

As this passage demonstrates, anyone who values reason over emotion will discover many insights by reading this book, and you will equally discover that no harm will come from that simple act, contrary to what HIV pundits would have you believe. In fact, your experience may be similar to my own, and you may find yourself shocked and furious to discover the low standards by which HIV=AIDS has been measured. Regardless, this brief excerpt from Dr. Culshaw's book demonstrates that propaganda and fear-mongering are inferior to reason when evaluating the facts of any matter.

In closing this review, it should be noted that the new leading cause of death with HIV-positive AIDS patients is "liver failure" -- most likely due to the toxic medications that Ms. Volpe wants to ceremoniously deliver to the developing world. Of course, HIV defenders hide this fact by labeling all HIV-positive AIDS deaths as being "from complications of AIDS." Well, it is imperative to our collective health that we all better understand what those "complications" really entail, and you can certainly get a better understanding of that nebulous phrase by reading this very important book.

The Confused Mathematician.......2007-04-14

Rebecca Culshaw is not a physician. She's not a person with HIV. She doesn't work for an HIV organization. She probably doesn't even know someone with HIV. If she did she would realize that it doesn't matter whether HIV causes AIDS. What matters is that HIV causes bad things to happen to people who have it. That's been proven thousands of times, in thousands of clinical trials. The truth is: HIV is a nasty virus and for most people, if they do not get treatment, they will end up with many dangerous infections, even cancer.

The facts are that HIV treatment is remarkably effective and has given people with HIV a new lease on life. The facts are that our focus now is getting these effective medications to the developing world, to the millions of children and adults who will die otherwise.

This book does not address the important issues, it doesn't answer the question: If I have HIV what will save my life? What will stop HIV from progressing? What will stop my CD4 count from going lower and my viral load higher. These are the real questions. Not whether HIV causes AIDS! Not sure who is reading books like this. And as long time HIV/AIDS activist, I'm stunned to see people still buying these kind of books. We've won so many battles in HIV! Compare to other diseases, the story of HIV medicine is such a hopeful, great story. Turning an almost inevitably fatal disease into one where people can live a normal life. Wow! Why would people like Rebecca Culshaw want to lead anyone to doubt stuff that has been proven long ago? Doesn't she know that there are people out there who may forgo their treatment because of these kind of books? And then she would be responsible for the illnesses and possibly death that would surely occur!

AIDS Under Pressure: Hyperbaric Medicine in the Management of HIV Disease

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Should be read by anyone interested in immune system.

AIDS Under Pressure: Hyperbaric Medicine in the Management of HIV Disease
Michelle Reillo
Manufacturer: Hogrefe & Huber Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0889371539

Customer Reviews:

Should be read by anyone interested in immune system........1999-08-10

Good basic discussion about the use of oxygen under pressure. Anyone interested in the immune system and generally keeping high resistance could benefit from this report on a valid study with "terminally ill" aids patients. Some of the technical charts and data may not interest the non-doctor reader but adds credibility to the text. The case histories and discussion on infective processes and the relationships they are finding between oxygen tissue content and the bodies mechanisms should be read. Priced very high, so may only attract seriously interested.

A History of AIDS Social Work in Hospitals: A Daring Response to an Epidemic

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A surprise hit
A MUST READ
Wonderful Book

A History of AIDS Social Work in Hospitals: A Daring Response to an Epidemic

Manufacturer: Haworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic

ASIN: 0789015870

Customer Reviews:

A surprise hit.......2004-07-15

I read this book because a friend of mine had died of AIDS.There were so many things I learned, but most importantly I wept. This book relived for me the courage of all those infected and affected by this pandemic. A must read!

A MUST READ.......2004-07-14

This book is fabulous. It should be a mandatory read for anyone involved in AIDS work. Doctors, social workers, nurses and anyone who knows someone afflicted with AIDS should have this in their library.

I cannot say enough about it, but rest assured this is a book you will recommend to your colleagues and everyone will have something to take away from this essential book.

Wonderful Book.......2003-10-08

This book is wonderful! You can tell the authors / editors are passionate about what they do, extremely knowlegable in their field and write accordingly. This is a MUST for anyone, clinician or otherwise, who wants a well researched report on the current state of affairs relating to AIDS social work or even the layman who desires to broaden their knowledge of this disease which affects so many.

Book Description

At the 13th International AIDS conference in Durban, Michael McColly, a journalist and yoga teacher living with AIDS, found himself confronted with the deeper issues and ethical dimensions of the epidemic. Seeing firsthand the destruction the disease was inflicting on South Africa and hearing the stories of activists from China to Nairobi challenged McColly to place his own problems within a global framework, forcing him to contemplate the lives of HIV positive people without access to treatment, health care, and a supportive community. Through interviews with Buddhist monks in a remote Thai monastery, male sex workers in India, African-American preachers in Chicago, and Senegalese mullahs, McColly comes to a fuller understanding of how cultural attitudes toward death and dying, sexuality and gender, and morality and spirituality affect the life chances of people living with HIV/AIDS. Part spiritual journey, part political transformation, Parables of the Body humanizes the often faceless struggles of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and at home.

Customer Reviews:

McColly Is Doing A Great Service.......2007-07-07

We are privileged to be working on publicity on this amazing book. Michael doesn't hold back and is brutally honest in his latest book. We highly recommend it.
Michael is also creating a Prostrations for Peace on July l5th that is spreading throughout the country. It's a demonstration against the continued war in Iraq and the continued suffering and killing of our own and Iraqi people.
Sherri Rosen Publicity, NYC

Intense, compassionate, enlightening, inspiring.......2007-05-24

HIV-positive journalist Michael McColly travels through South Africa, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Chicago, and Senegal to document the lives of activists, sex workers, and people living with the AIDS. He also tells his own story, humanizing the disease and making it accessible in an intimate and compassionate way.

McColly's careful crafting blends scene and internal observations in a way that moves the vantage point from a feeling in the body to the exterior world, then out to a global perspective, taking the reader with him. Imagery and perception combine to make this not only an important sociological study of multiple struggles (sexuality, AIDS, poverty, healing), but also a literary work. He incorporates facts so that they become a part of the story without losing momentum, allowing the reader to step away from this book with a greater understanding of the scope of the AIDS pandemic.

Posing poignant and at times painful questions throughout his memoir, McColly challenges the reader to confront complex issues.

The book is both disheartening and inspiring as McColly's journey deepens. In Chennai, India, he interviews a man heading AIDS education for sex workers who says, "We are trying to make the young men ... into a cohesive, self-sustaining community. It's the only way they are going to survive not only this disease but this life." This becomes a subtle theme through the book: those who become active in helping others find that reaching out gives them a way to cope with the disease. At times, the story is devastating. Multiple viewpoints and approaches toward the treatment of AIDS help to put the struggles of various countries into a very real perspective.

The After-Death Room is a modern portrait of the diverse spectrum of the AIDS landscape. But the ultimate message does not just apply to AIDS. It is universal: the importance of connecting, understanding, loving, and helping others--which, in this world, is harder than ever to realize, is certainly a thing worth living for.

[...]

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