Aids Doesn't Discriminate, So Why Do We?

Book Review: By BEEM WEEKS 

isn’t a novel, though it certainly would make quite an interesting story. Neither is it a biography. What author Joel Savage has crafted is a very real look into the lives of victims of the AIDS epidemic that has plagued the world since before the dreaded disease was actually identified.

Savage introduces readers to Benta, a woman living on the outskirts of Aarhus, Denmark. When Benta is diagnosed with the AIDS virus, her family and friends desert her in the moment she needs them most. We also meet young Nkosi Johnson, a boy of only twelve years when he loses his life to the disease. But Nkosi was

unlike most children his age. This boy took his fight—and the fights of other victims—into the public arena, challenging politicians and others to step up and make a difference in this battle. 

Nkosi even went so far as to chide the president of his nation, Thabo Mbeki, before thousands attending the 13th International AIDS Conference in South Africa, for the politician’s mishandling of an epidemic already responsible for the loss of millions of lives across the African continent.

Author Savage tells the stories of other lives touched by the disease. He so powerfully exposes the bias of those who would turn their backs on loved ones and strangers alike, based solely on a doctor’s diagnosis. Had these individuals been told they had cancer, would they still be deserted by those who claimed to love them?

AIDS is a dark chapter in modern history. Joel Savage points out how this one disease seems to give permission to discriminate against its sufferers. This is a book that everybody should read. I recommend it highly.

THE REVIEWER

Beem Weeks is a divorced father of two, an author, a writer and a reader--though not necessarily in that order. He has written two historical fiction/coming-of-age novel Jazz Baby, which is available at http://www.tinyurl.com/bbj4my7. He has also authored several short stories. Beem writes in many different genres but he prefers the coming-of-age tales--since we all go through the various traumas of growing up, no matter the era. He is currently working on his second novel, but that's a slow-go sometimes. Beem appreciates and love life truly enjoying life. “Being alive is a gift I'm grateful to possess.” Says Beem. He is also on Koobug.com at http://koobug.com/BeemWeeks
and has got a few reviews and interviews he also liked to share:
tinyurl.com/cd7ptt4
http://bookgoodies.com/interv...more