You may be wondering how it is possible to have a positive perspective on a book surrounding the AIDS epidemic. Seeing the positives does not mean only focusing on light-hearted stories. It is easy to stay positive when you stand in the sunshine. It is harder to stay positive when you stand in the dark.

I was surprised how little I knew about the epidemic. There are excuses that I can give: it started before I was born, I was young during the worst of it. I could even use the excuse that I grew up in the Bible Belt where discussions surrounding anything even tangentially related to homosexuality was taboo. None of those are good excuses though.

Learning has always been a passion of mine. I adore learning new things and gaining knowledge about anything and everything. I have read dozens of books about things that happened well before I was even a thought and about things that are taboo. When I saw Book Riot’s challenge to read a book about activism, I immediately thought of issues that I already had researched and could learn more about. But then I saw this book.

To say that I enjoyed this book would not be fully accurate. I learned a lot from this book and am glad that I read it. It gives me a hunger to learn more about communities mainstream history often ignores.

The author does a phenomenal job of approaching the subject in an unflinching manner. It is a great read, and you should definitely check it out.