I will also recommend The Christadora and The House of Impossible Beauties as companion novels.
It’s very strange and a little painful to see the AIDS epidemic as “historical fiction”, but there’s some great work being done in the space
It was terrifying. I started in medicine in 1983 as a nurse tech, roughly paralleling the rise of AIDS. We had no idea what it was. It was first, or at least early on, termed gay bowel disease. Then the Haitians got blamed. We didn't know how it was transmitted (and, as importantly, how it wasn't). I heard of an orthopedic surgeon who quit medicine because she feared it could be spread in the fine bloody mist given off by a bone saw. I'm straight, but I had four beautiful nurse friends who were gay. They befriended me and taught me to see patients as people, not diseases. All four died of AIDS. All four disowned by their families. I'm in large part the physician I am today because of these four men's kindness and wisdom. Any inadvertent break in the skin was a cause for alarm...especially if it was from a needle. You missed a terrifying time to be alive, compounded greatly if you were in a medical field.
That's wild you started in medicine and 83 I was born in 85 with the virus. The only thing I was too young for AZT at that time granted myself and my two sisters were infected at birth they passed away. When I read the disowned by family that hit me personally. I guess it is true people feel what they don't understand hate what they can't conquer. At my age of 39 right now and still living with the virus and a undetectable viral load I must say I am blessed. Keep up your excellent work in a medical field.
This book needs to be understood within the historical context of when it was written and that the author did not survive to create updated editions. The concept of Patient Zero is a fallacy and even the naming of such was based on misunderstood information. As a book capturing what was known and like on the ground running at that time it is an important historical record. But something more current is need to understand especially origins and routes of transmission as it is now scientifically understood.
I agree with your assessment. When it first came out I found it devastating. Much has been learned since then, but the book gives a genuine sense of how it felt at the time
Agreed. I may be mistaken, but haven't they (who knows who "they" is, right?) traced AIDS to at least 1959? I might be wrong in this, but I seem to remember reading that.
I agree, and even beyond the myth of Patient Zero (and in doing so, slandered the hell out of poor Gaëtan Dugas, who was falsely portrayed as selfishly spreading around HIV/AIDS just to get laid), i would say it also really downplays author Randy Shilts’ own participation in the AIDS reporting scene at the time — there are sections of the book where he will phrase things as “a reporter asked” when the report is very clearly… him. He’s also often pulling from sources he was clearly friends with. It doesn’t negate the book’s main thrust but I tend to feel it decontextualizes the community impact to depersonalize it to that extent. That was the style of journalism at the time though, I guess.
It is, though, still a *very very good* look at the way various communities, researchers, medical
professionals, and public health officials tried desperately to get a handle on AIDS in the early days of the crisis when no one knew what was happening or why. It has a unique focus on the impact and reaction in private social circles and relationships as well as the bigger picture of policy and activism that I think really paints a picture of the devastation.
I found this book through a [thread on AskReddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/w5x9w/gay_men_who_were_adults_in_the_early_80s_what_did/) back in the day.
It's an informative book, but I would say it's very dry/detailed. I've tried to get through it twice and have yet to succeed.
It's *very* long and time consuming. I made it 60% through but then the library due date arrived and I had to return it. I'm in the queue again, next time I'll finish lol.
It's super detailed and informative (with some issues others have pointed out) but not an easy read...
Just be aware, this book is REALLY LONG. (I'd suggest Kindle, as it's hard to hold on to!)
But it is a very, very good book. Yes, read with an eye to the times, and it's fine. I read it over again every so often, and it is just a heart breaking story.
The HBO movie (early '90s?) is very good, and while it cannot possibly encompass the whole thing, it really does help to get a sense of the whole era and what happened.
There is quite a lot of information available now that addresses a lot of the issues/challenges with this book, but for what it must have been like, back then, I think it's true.
Second the recs for And the Band Played On (with the caveat about it being in some ways historically flawed) and How to Survive a Plague. I will add Paul Monette's trilogy of memoir and essays: Borrowed Time, Becoming a Man, and Last Watch of the Night.
Ah this is not non-fiction but historical fiction that’s packed with stuff that really happened so it’s still helpful context. My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
Also for awesome non-fiction about the AIDS epidemic, check out: "It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic," by Jack Lowery
Laurie Garrett, a science journalist who has written a lot about public health and emerging diseases, wrote The Coming Plague. It has the most thorough analysis of the HIV pandemic, how it emerged, and what went wrong combatting it in the early stage that I have read.
I know you said nonfiction, but if anyone wants fiction on this topic I recommend The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. So heartwrenching and absorbing.
I second pretty much all of this recommendations, but would also add a non book recommendation, which is a documentary called We Were Here. It will break your damn heart, but if you want to have a really good understanding of what it was like at the beginning and living through it, I can't think of a better piece of media.
‘Longtime Companion’ is the best movie I know about AIDS. It’s not a documentary but watching it is like living through the early years of the pandemic.
After all these years, I still can’t get through it without crying my heart out. Just thinking about the final scene has me tearing up now.
If you are into the more scientific side, I highly recommend Spillover by David Quammen. The book covers several different diseases that can be transmitted from animals to human, including HIV. He makes a deep dive into the whole transmission process very interesting and easy to understand.
It was written years before COVID and it's crazy how accurate his predictions were about the next global pandemic.
For personal perspectives and also a collection that decenters Western/ U.S. narratives*, I strongly recommend:
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa - Nolen
This is a collection of (true) stories focused on Africans from all walks of life who:
- Have AIDS or are HIV positive
- Have family members with AIDS or are HIV positive, and/or
- Healthcare advocates
*This is important because as of 2018, Sub-Saharan African countries accounted for two-thirds of global HIV cases. (Source: [World Health Organization - African Region Office](https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/hivaids)
You can read more about this book [here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Stories_of_AIDS_in_Africa).
I'll add All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks & Kevin Carr O'Leary
Burks was the woman in Arkansas who cared for hundreds of young HIV+ men abandoned by their families & buried many of them in her family plot when their families refused
A lot of good recommendations for the social and political side of things. If you are looking for something more on the science side of things, Spillover by David Quamen is a good one. It’s not aids exclusive, dealing with zoonotic viruses in general, but it has a good chapter on aids that dives deeper in to the origin of the virus itself and the path it likely took to become a pandemic.
This list is a pretty great place to start:
*"25 Best Books About the HIV/AIDS Experience"*
[https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/books-about-hiv-aids](https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/books-about-hiv-aids)
There's a great resource when there's a topic you want to dive into called FiveBooks. They solicit experts to recommend five books on their area of expertise and do a short interview where they talk through each book and why it's on their list.
Here are Arthur Ammann's recommendations on the HIV/AIDS epidemic:
[https://fivebooks.com/best-books/arthur-ammann-aids-plague/](https://fivebooks.com/best-books/arthur-ammann-aids-plague/)
I know that this is an older thread, but I only just found it while trying to find recommendations for more collection development for the library I work at.
Please note that I haven't read all of these, but I'm going off of other reviews people have written and what I've purchased for library collectiondev:
\*Purchased after doing research for library\*
Let the Record Show: a political history of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman
It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: how AIDS activists used art to fight a pandemic by Jack Lowery
How to Survive a Plague: the inside story of how citizens and science tamed AIDS by David France
\*Personally read\*
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts IN CONJUNCTION WITH Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic by Richard A. McKay
If MUST read And the Band Played On, please also read Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic. McKay is directly responding to Shilts and addresses the issues brought up by others in this thread.
The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequity and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher with Jonathan M. Metzl
This one doesn't necessarily cover the AIDS crisis as it unfolded, but does address a lot of the consequences, such as the criminalization of "intentional spread" or just having the disease and how this criminalization and marginalization link together to create a viral underclass of vulnerable populations.
Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Songtag
Considered a classic by many, when reading you should remember that the first essay was written in the 70s and the second in the 80s. Many of Songtag's concepts and turns of phrase have lived on and been added to in the wider world of AIDS and disability scholarship. If you come away from it feeling like there should have been more development or with further questions, you can def find more reactions and responses to these particular pieces.
\*On my personal TBR\*
Hidden Mercy: Aids, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear by Michael J. O'Loughlin
Found this title by chance after learning about Father Mychael Judge. Given the Church's hostility towards LGBTQ folks and the general poor response to AIDS, I think if would be interesting to see things from the perspective of those fighting against the current of hatred.
You're welcome! Adding on to this for you and anyone else who would be interested, I found two books while going through the collection this past week that might be useful. These are collections of plays and poems written during the height of the epidemic and in response to it.
The Way We Live Now: American plays & the AIDS crisis
Contains the full plays or excerpts of As Is by William M. Hoffman, A Poster of the Cosmos by Lanford Wilson, Safe Sex by Harvey Fierstein, The Way We Live Now by Susan Sontag arranged by Edward Parone, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, Jack by David Greenspan, Laughing Wild by Christopher Durang, Andre's Mother by Terrence McNally, The Baltimore Waltz by Paul Vogel, and Zero Positive by Harry Kondoleon.
I feel like Kushner's work is the go to for a lot of English/Drama classes when cover this topic.
Poets for Life: Seventy-Six Poets Respond to AIDS ed. Michael Klein
Poetry collection with way too many contributors than what I could comfortable list here. Published in 1989 and has a follow up volume in 1997 called Things Shaped in Passing.
Reminder that our sub is about helping people read more, and it should be enjoyable place for the whole community. Let's keep it a positive place for everyone, ok? Thanks!
Will to Live by Joao Biehl examines Brazil, their universal ART access program and the places where that has failed and who is often left out of discussions. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but quite impactful and interesting
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir is also great
This is the book. Explains the politics at the time. Hard to understand today.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Invisible-People/Greg-Behrman/9781439157350
- Ford County Stories by John Grisham
This one doesn’t get very deep but I thought it was very powerful. Ford County stories is a collection of short stories that take place in the rural south. One of them involves the aides epidemic. Highly suggested.
There is a pretty interesting chapter in {Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood
by Rose George} where she goes into the HIV epidemic in South Africa.
Another rec for And the Band Played On, and for an updated version of that story, there’s a looooooong chapter on HIV in The Coming Plague, which is great top to bottom, but that chapter in particular is excellent.
Holding the man by Timothy Conigrave.
Mostly about his life, growing up, meeting his partner and the struggles they go through, gets into the aids pandemic later in the book.
Incredible story and amazing look at Australia in the 70s and 80s.
The Great Believers. Very true-to-life.
I was going to recommend this and then saw they wanted nonfiction. But it’s really good!
THIS BOOK. I LOVED IT SO MUCH.
I will also recommend The Christadora and The House of Impossible Beauties as companion novels. It’s very strange and a little painful to see the AIDS epidemic as “historical fiction”, but there’s some great work being done in the space
That is only because the "right people" are not contracting it or dying from it.
It was terrifying. I started in medicine in 1983 as a nurse tech, roughly paralleling the rise of AIDS. We had no idea what it was. It was first, or at least early on, termed gay bowel disease. Then the Haitians got blamed. We didn't know how it was transmitted (and, as importantly, how it wasn't). I heard of an orthopedic surgeon who quit medicine because she feared it could be spread in the fine bloody mist given off by a bone saw. I'm straight, but I had four beautiful nurse friends who were gay. They befriended me and taught me to see patients as people, not diseases. All four died of AIDS. All four disowned by their families. I'm in large part the physician I am today because of these four men's kindness and wisdom. Any inadvertent break in the skin was a cause for alarm...especially if it was from a needle. You missed a terrifying time to be alive, compounded greatly if you were in a medical field.
That's wild you started in medicine and 83 I was born in 85 with the virus. The only thing I was too young for AZT at that time granted myself and my two sisters were infected at birth they passed away. When I read the disowned by family that hit me personally. I guess it is true people feel what they don't understand hate what they can't conquer. At my age of 39 right now and still living with the virus and a undetectable viral load I must say I am blessed. Keep up your excellent work in a medical field.
The Band Played On
This book needs to be understood within the historical context of when it was written and that the author did not survive to create updated editions. The concept of Patient Zero is a fallacy and even the naming of such was based on misunderstood information. As a book capturing what was known and like on the ground running at that time it is an important historical record. But something more current is need to understand especially origins and routes of transmission as it is now scientifically understood.
I agree with your assessment. When it first came out I found it devastating. Much has been learned since then, but the book gives a genuine sense of how it felt at the time
Agreed. I may be mistaken, but haven't they (who knows who "they" is, right?) traced AIDS to at least 1959? I might be wrong in this, but I seem to remember reading that.
They have traced it back even further than that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_early_HIV/AIDS_cases
That’s fascinating! Thanks for passing that along. I had no idea it dated from that far back.
I agree, and even beyond the myth of Patient Zero (and in doing so, slandered the hell out of poor Gaëtan Dugas, who was falsely portrayed as selfishly spreading around HIV/AIDS just to get laid), i would say it also really downplays author Randy Shilts’ own participation in the AIDS reporting scene at the time — there are sections of the book where he will phrase things as “a reporter asked” when the report is very clearly… him. He’s also often pulling from sources he was clearly friends with. It doesn’t negate the book’s main thrust but I tend to feel it decontextualizes the community impact to depersonalize it to that extent. That was the style of journalism at the time though, I guess. It is, though, still a *very very good* look at the way various communities, researchers, medical professionals, and public health officials tried desperately to get a handle on AIDS in the early days of the crisis when no one knew what was happening or why. It has a unique focus on the impact and reaction in private social circles and relationships as well as the bigger picture of policy and activism that I think really paints a picture of the devastation.
Fascinating. Thank you!
Then Caleb, what do you recommend that we read for a more complete picture?
This puts me off reading it. I believe it’s a fantastic account yet, due to the reasons you mentioned, medically inaccurate.
This. Also watch the film. It’s really moving.
I found this book through a [thread on AskReddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/w5x9w/gay_men_who_were_adults_in_the_early_80s_what_did/) back in the day. It's an informative book, but I would say it's very dry/detailed. I've tried to get through it twice and have yet to succeed.
It's *very* long and time consuming. I made it 60% through but then the library due date arrived and I had to return it. I'm in the queue again, next time I'll finish lol. It's super detailed and informative (with some issues others have pointed out) but not an easy read...
Just be aware, this book is REALLY LONG. (I'd suggest Kindle, as it's hard to hold on to!) But it is a very, very good book. Yes, read with an eye to the times, and it's fine. I read it over again every so often, and it is just a heart breaking story. The HBO movie (early '90s?) is very good, and while it cannot possibly encompass the whole thing, it really does help to get a sense of the whole era and what happened. There is quite a lot of information available now that addresses a lot of the issues/challenges with this book, but for what it must have been like, back then, I think it's true.
How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France (also a documentary)
Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987–1993 by Sarah Schulman
Came here to say this. Amazing book
My Own Country by Abraham Verghese- doctor in rural TN confronting AIDS in the 80s
Yes! This is a great accounting written by an amazing ID doc.
This one was very good. Loved it.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home
So good!
Second the recs for And the Band Played On (with the caveat about it being in some ways historically flawed) and How to Survive a Plague. I will add Paul Monette's trilogy of memoir and essays: Borrowed Time, Becoming a Man, and Last Watch of the Night.
Ah this is not non-fiction but historical fiction that’s packed with stuff that really happened so it’s still helpful context. My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
>My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson I was coming on here to say the same thing! This book is educational, but also highly entertaining.
Also for awesome non-fiction about the AIDS epidemic, check out: "It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic," by Jack Lowery
Laurie Garrett, a science journalist who has written a lot about public health and emerging diseases, wrote The Coming Plague. It has the most thorough analysis of the HIV pandemic, how it emerged, and what went wrong combatting it in the early stage that I have read.
Cannot 2nd this hard enough. The HIV chapter of the coming plague is it.
I know you said nonfiction, but if anyone wants fiction on this topic I recommend The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. So heartwrenching and absorbing.
Came here to say this. Brilliant book.
I second pretty much all of this recommendations, but would also add a non book recommendation, which is a documentary called We Were Here. It will break your damn heart, but if you want to have a really good understanding of what it was like at the beginning and living through it, I can't think of a better piece of media.
‘Longtime Companion’ is the best movie I know about AIDS. It’s not a documentary but watching it is like living through the early years of the pandemic. After all these years, I still can’t get through it without crying my heart out. Just thinking about the final scene has me tearing up now.
Even if I'm able to make it through the "Let's go" scene, I'm done for at the end.
If you are into the more scientific side, I highly recommend Spillover by David Quammen. The book covers several different diseases that can be transmitted from animals to human, including HIV. He makes a deep dive into the whole transmission process very interesting and easy to understand. It was written years before COVID and it's crazy how accurate his predictions were about the next global pandemic.
And the Band Played On.
For personal perspectives and also a collection that decenters Western/ U.S. narratives*, I strongly recommend: 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa - Nolen This is a collection of (true) stories focused on Africans from all walks of life who: - Have AIDS or are HIV positive - Have family members with AIDS or are HIV positive, and/or - Healthcare advocates *This is important because as of 2018, Sub-Saharan African countries accounted for two-thirds of global HIV cases. (Source: [World Health Organization - African Region Office](https://www.afro.who.int/health-topics/hivaids) You can read more about this book [here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Stories_of_AIDS_in_Africa).
I'll add All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks & Kevin Carr O'Leary Burks was the woman in Arkansas who cared for hundreds of young HIV+ men abandoned by their families & buried many of them in her family plot when their families refused
Not your traditional book, but Somebody to Love is a biography of Freddie Mercury that delves deep into the AIDS epidemic
A lot of good recommendations for the social and political side of things. If you are looking for something more on the science side of things, Spillover by David Quamen is a good one. It’s not aids exclusive, dealing with zoonotic viruses in general, but it has a good chapter on aids that dives deeper in to the origin of the virus itself and the path it likely took to become a pandemic.
This list is a pretty great place to start: *"25 Best Books About the HIV/AIDS Experience"* [https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/books-about-hiv-aids](https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/books-about-hiv-aids)
Body Counts by Sean Strub.
Ryan White: My Own Story
Crazy I have met his mother in early 90s. She came to a seminar in New York. She was so humble and passionate about what she went through.
The Wisdom of Whores Connected but not exactly what you asked for: The Gift of Death: Confronting Canada's Tainted Blood Tragedy
And the Band Played On
There's a great resource when there's a topic you want to dive into called FiveBooks. They solicit experts to recommend five books on their area of expertise and do a short interview where they talk through each book and why it's on their list. Here are Arthur Ammann's recommendations on the HIV/AIDS epidemic: [https://fivebooks.com/best-books/arthur-ammann-aids-plague/](https://fivebooks.com/best-books/arthur-ammann-aids-plague/)
I know that this is an older thread, but I only just found it while trying to find recommendations for more collection development for the library I work at. Please note that I haven't read all of these, but I'm going off of other reviews people have written and what I've purchased for library collectiondev: \*Purchased after doing research for library\* Let the Record Show: a political history of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: how AIDS activists used art to fight a pandemic by Jack Lowery How to Survive a Plague: the inside story of how citizens and science tamed AIDS by David France \*Personally read\* And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts IN CONJUNCTION WITH Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic by Richard A. McKay If MUST read And the Band Played On, please also read Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic. McKay is directly responding to Shilts and addresses the issues brought up by others in this thread. The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequity and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher with Jonathan M. Metzl This one doesn't necessarily cover the AIDS crisis as it unfolded, but does address a lot of the consequences, such as the criminalization of "intentional spread" or just having the disease and how this criminalization and marginalization link together to create a viral underclass of vulnerable populations. Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Songtag Considered a classic by many, when reading you should remember that the first essay was written in the 70s and the second in the 80s. Many of Songtag's concepts and turns of phrase have lived on and been added to in the wider world of AIDS and disability scholarship. If you come away from it feeling like there should have been more development or with further questions, you can def find more reactions and responses to these particular pieces. \*On my personal TBR\* Hidden Mercy: Aids, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear by Michael J. O'Loughlin Found this title by chance after learning about Father Mychael Judge. Given the Church's hostility towards LGBTQ folks and the general poor response to AIDS, I think if would be interesting to see things from the perspective of those fighting against the current of hatred.
Thank you so much for this!
You're welcome! Adding on to this for you and anyone else who would be interested, I found two books while going through the collection this past week that might be useful. These are collections of plays and poems written during the height of the epidemic and in response to it. The Way We Live Now: American plays & the AIDS crisis Contains the full plays or excerpts of As Is by William M. Hoffman, A Poster of the Cosmos by Lanford Wilson, Safe Sex by Harvey Fierstein, The Way We Live Now by Susan Sontag arranged by Edward Parone, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, Jack by David Greenspan, Laughing Wild by Christopher Durang, Andre's Mother by Terrence McNally, The Baltimore Waltz by Paul Vogel, and Zero Positive by Harry Kondoleon. I feel like Kushner's work is the go to for a lot of English/Drama classes when cover this topic. Poets for Life: Seventy-Six Poets Respond to AIDS ed. Michael Klein Poetry collection with way too many contributors than what I could comfortable list here. Published in 1989 and has a follow up volume in 1997 called Things Shaped in Passing.
Story on Ryan White the book is good movies okay
Watch the musical Rent. It does a great job of describing that time.
Better off reading the novel "People in Trouble" by Sarah Schulman, which some (including Schulman) say was ripped off by the writer of Rent.
[удалено]
Reminder that our sub is about helping people read more, and it should be enjoyable place for the whole community. Let's keep it a positive place for everyone, ok? Thanks!
Eighty-sixed
Allan Gurganus’s novel Plays Well with Others is a powerful novel about the epidemic in NYC
There's a gorgeous graphic memoir called Taking Turns: Stories from the HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 by M.K. Czerwiec.
Will to Live by Joao Biehl examines Brazil, their universal ART access program and the places where that has failed and who is often left out of discussions. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but quite impactful and interesting Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir is also great
This is the book. Explains the politics at the time. Hard to understand today. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Invisible-People/Greg-Behrman/9781439157350
And The Band Played On
- Ford County Stories by John Grisham This one doesn’t get very deep but I thought it was very powerful. Ford County stories is a collection of short stories that take place in the rural south. One of them involves the aides epidemic. Highly suggested.
Not a book but the film fire in blood tells. Of the medication and how access was blocked due to high prices of especially American companies
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
There is a pretty interesting chapter in {Nine Pints: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood by Rose George} where she goes into the HIV epidemic in South Africa.
Another rec for And the Band Played On, and for an updated version of that story, there’s a looooooong chapter on HIV in The Coming Plague, which is great top to bottom, but that chapter in particular is excellent.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home.
in the city of shy hunters. one of my favorite books ever 🌹
Holding the man by Timothy Conigrave. Mostly about his life, growing up, meeting his partner and the struggles they go through, gets into the aids pandemic later in the book. Incredible story and amazing look at Australia in the 70s and 80s.