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David Levithan is the author of several books for young adults, including Lambda Literary Award winner and National Book Award Longlister Two Boys Kissing; Every Day; Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist; Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, coauthored with Rachel Cohn; Will Grayson, Will Grayson, coauthored with John Green; and Boy Meets Boy. More about this author >
Gabriel Duckels is a writer and scholar based in Texas. He holds a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge and teaches at Texas State University. His doctoral research examined the representation of the AIDS crisis in texts for young people in the United States. The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America is his first book. More about this author >
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From the publisher:
The AIDS crisis in America is complex and composed of countless individual stories of grief, love, and advocacy. Its history shows the power of youth activism, how creativity and community can be vehicles for social change, and how bigotry and misinformation led to inequality in care.
The early days of the AIDS crisis saw LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities making strides in the fight for equality. As many people in positions of power were slow to act or actively didn’t pay attention until their own communities were affected, the fight for equality turned into a fight for their lives. Grassroots efforts filled in gaps where mainstream medicine and politics failed, and over time, a cultural shift of awareness emerged, which led to more research and more treatments. And while the disease has transitioned from a death sentence to one that people can live full lives with, there are still people dying of HIV/AIDS today because they can’t access the care they need. The fight may have begun decades ago, but is not yet over.
Award-winning author David Levithan and University of Cambridge PhD Gabriel Duckels detail a brief history of the epidemic, touching on key moments and figures, such as Ryan White, ACT UP, Larry Kramer and Anthony Fauci, Pedro Zamora from MTV’s The Real World, and the NAMES Quilt. Threaded throughout are poems, essays, and other creative works, in addition to first-person interviews and narratives.
