The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir

Gr 7 Up–With simplicity and honesty that is both engrossing and intimate, author and artist Curlee recounts his life as a gay man living through the HIV/AIDS crisis. Using a traditional linear time line, he beautifully portrays the major points of his life. He grew up in North Carolina in a loving, traditional family. While in his 20s in gritty, 1970s New York City, Curlee recounts the fun of the disco lifestyle and the energy from the movements seeking gender and sexual equality in society. He lived in California in the early 1980s when the virus was surging but was a mystery that society wouldn’t talk about. He conveys the homophobic and deadly silence of the federal government that ignored the crisis for years, alongside the urgent work of AIDS activists trying to save their own lives. With heartbreaking regularity, the author watches those he loves die in the prime of their lives, one after another. He briefly touches on the differences and similarities of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding context and relatability for readers. Source notes, bibliography, and index included.