Living with HIV: Experiment in Courage

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This NIH-supported study of HIV's physical and psychosocial impacts offers both practical and inspiring accounts of how individuals living with HIV respond and cope with the disease and its progressive stages and impacts. The longitudinal approach of the research and the rich resources offered by extensive interviews with the persons with HIV and those closest to them avail the reader of insights and responses that should improve others' coping and caring abilities. The author's professional experience and extensive research informs the work throughout and fashions a remarkable and moving synthesis of the themes that will help those living with AIDS as well as all who relate to them. From the first awareness of infection to coping with bereavement, this book honestly, sensitively, and substantively addresses the essential concerns that any and all who are touched by the HIV pandemic must reflect on.

Reviews

O'Brien (nursing, Catholic Univ. of America) has compiled the results of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health involving 136 persons infected with human immunedeficiency virus. Often in their own words, these people describe the physical and psychosocial dilemmas that HIV has forced them to adapt to. Startling comments unmask the peculiarities of the disease and the coping strategies that patients employ. I know this is going to sound crazy, one participant says, but it would really be hard if I found out that I wasn't going to die. Although clinical in nature, the book is accessible and often painful to read. Recommended for psychology and healthcare collections of large public libraries and healthcare collections of large public libraries and most academic libraries. * Library Journal *
Anyone who is working with people living with HIV disease will immediately see themselves and their clients in the experiences shared in this book. This is important, because these stories need to be shared among the veterans of HIV work. A more important contribution of the book is its ability to educate those just beginning to encounter HIV disease. This is true for the newly diagnosed person with HIV and his or her family and friends as well as the professional in a service provider role. A valuable resource for all caregivers experiencing the emotional needs of HIV-positive clients. * Contemporary Psychology *

Author Bio

Mary Elizabeth O'Brien, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a Professor in the School of Nursing at The Catholic University of America. She is a Registered Nurse and sociologist and also holds a Master of Social Work degree. Dr. O'Brien's books include The Courage to Survive, The Life Career of the Chronic Dialysis Patient, and Anatomy of a Nursing Home: A New View of Resident Life.