The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience

Abstract

This book documents the lived experiences of HIV-positive gay men who are presently middle aged, long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS. Through the use of ethnography and life history interviews, the book delineates the resiliencies that these fifteen long-term survivors have demonstrated in coping with a life-threatening disease throughout the course of their adult lives. Interwoven with the academic literature, historical events, and artistic expressions from the popular media, the book narrates the life stories of these gay men who are members of the “AIDS Generation”. Their stories span the period from the early days of the epidemic to the present, including their lives as boys and young men negotiating their sexuality, first learning their serostatus, and their life experiences during this time. Next, this book describes the medical, psychological, social strategies and behaviors the men of this generation engaged in to survive the AIDS epidemic, and how these men of the AIDS Generation are confronting and navigating through this period of middle aged adulthood and into older adulthood with new physical, emotional, and social struggles. The book examines how approaches to survival inform and are informed by the broad body of literature on resilience and health, which may be applicable to the lives of those newly infected with HIV and others who are living with chronic health conditions, as well as providing insight to their caregivers and policy makers.