Wise Before Their Time: People With AIDS And HIV Talks About Their Lives

by Ann Richardson

Unlike most books describing people with AIDS and HIV, this one is compiled almost entirely from their own words. The idea was conceived in the course of planning the 5th International Conference of People with HIV and AIDS, which took place in London in September 1991, with about 550 participants from more than 50 countries. One of the book's editors, Dietmar Bolle, who died from AIDS in January 1992 after a seven-year fight, was the organizer of the conference. He invited applicants to send, with their registration forms, their personal stories for possible publication, and these accounts were supplemented with interviews.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ann Richardson has been a writer for many years. She is fascinated by other people’s thoughts, experiences and emotions and loves to write books where they can express their views in their own words.

She writes on different subjects that capture her interest for one reason or another. These include i) a book about how it feels to be a grandmother (Celebrating Grandmothers); ii) a book about people living with HIV/AIDS when there was no cure (Wise Before Their Time, Foreword by Sir Ian McKellen); and iii) a book about what it is like to work in end-of-life care (Life in a Hospice, with a Foreword by Tony Benn).

Her most recent book is completely different. It is called The Granny Who Stands on Her Head: Reflections on growing older. It is part memoir and part thoughts on why she likes being an older woman.

Ann lives with her husband in London, England.

Please visit her website http://www.annrichardson.co.uk.

Reviews

[Heidi Lynn’s BookReviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I want to thank Ann Richardson Dietmar Bolle with a Foreward by Sir Iam McKellen for providing me with this book so I may provide you with this review.

Wise Before Their Time People With AIDS and HIV Talk about Their Lives by Ann Richardson a very compassionate look at the lives and daily struggles of people living with HIV and AIDS. A book that you will definitely need your tissues for. A book that will show you that living with HIV and AIDS is not an easy one and each individual is very courageous for going through this battle. You will get a better understanding of the personal and clinical side of this disease.

Throughout this book you will read stories of individuals whom have HIV and AIDS. Each story will touch your hearts in different ways. Many will tell you how they found out they got the disease, how they told their families, what life is like for them now, etc. You will learn that it is not just a gay disease and that even babies can get this. After reading these stories you will never look the same at this disease the same way again.

Words could not express how my heart ached Ann Richardson whom lost her dear friend and co-author of this book Dietmar Bolle to AIDS. It would have been 25 years since his passing. Deitmar had a heart of gold, a passion for helping people and making a difference in their lives. In all of his achievements he accomplished he truly changed these people’s lives for the better. He was truly an incredible man that I would have loved to have the honor to meet. Dietmar Bolle thank you for everything you did for the AIDS/HIV community.

Mark from Canada mentioned something in this book that I loved “Many express a love of being alive and the need not to take things for granted.” “In the life, I am very much an observer. I like to be looking, the people, the things. I have a marvelous relationship with one of my nephews, I love him very much. And to see him growing each day, it is a marvelous for me.”

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so important. I have no words to explain how important this book actually is.

It's not the first time I read a book that deals with AIDS and HIV, but it's the first time I read a book where so many different experiences with them are shown. That's one of the main things I take away from this book: diversity.

This book shines light on how AIDS and HIV do not target a certain group of people, that it can affect anyone. It is based on interviews done to people at a meeting for HIV-positive people. The good thing about that is that we get experiences from people from all over the world, so their experiences have to be different from each other's. It's been interesting to see how different cultures react to the same thing and deal with it.

There is something about the fragments that make them even more personal and real: the fact that the authors kept some mistakes that non-native English speakers would make. That showed to me that the texts were not altered to look a certain way, so everything that is written comes from specifically those people. This might be like a weird point to make but, personally, I think that it's important to keep the essence of the people who are talking about something so personal. Furthermore, those mistakes do not lead to miscommunication, so they are not really that big.

The best part about this book is that every person that is interviewed has had a different experience. Therefore, we see how different people with different backgrounds (culture, education, sexuality, etc.) talk about how they live with knowing they are HIV-positive. Everything that is depicted here is very real: we see doubts, hope, carelessness, etc. We see a full scope of feelings and reactions. We also see that not everyone affected is a young adult, there are children and adults too.

To be honest, one of the most surprising (and amazing) things about this book is that it gives hope to people in that same situation. It validates people's feelings from being suicidal to wanting to live life fully. Normalizing all those feelings is important to make people feel like what they feel is not wrong. All throughout the pages you can see that there is a message of hope, of resistance, but the thing is that that message is spread through different experiences and it's not just about facing HIV straight away and not being scared.

I don't really have the words to properly explain how important this is. I just hope more people read it and learn a bit more about the virus.

*I received an e-ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Lynn (Smile24k) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enlightening book and gives a close up look at real people battling HIV/Aids during the height of the crisis. As someone who was a young child when HIV was first coming to the forefront, I was shocked by some of the stories, especially the stories from other countries. We don't hear as much about HIV/Aids now, but this is a good book to read to reflect on how misinformation and fear can make us forget our humanity.

My one complaint about this book is the organization of how the stories were told. The book was impactful, especially for someone like me who wasn't old enough to understand the crisis at its height. However, I think it could have been even more impactful if each individual's story wasn't broken into small chunks throughout the book. The book was divided into sections like getting the diagnosis, telling others, relationships, etc. There were snippets in each section from multiple different people. Then in the next section is would be a mix of people again and some were the same from the previous sections, but with so many people and stories it was hard to follow any individual's whole story. It would have made It easier to connect with each person if the sections/chapters were by person and each person's story was told before moving to the next.

[Jonathan Fryer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When AIDS first hit the headlines in the early 1980s, there was widespread fear and ignorance. I remember an ernest young fisherman coming up to me on a beach in Sri Lanka in the summer of 1986, asking nervously whether one could catch AIDS from kissing. These days, attitudes to the disease -- and to the HIV virus that can lead to it -- have changed considerably, partly because of more widespread scientific knowledge but largely because those who can access antiretroviral drugs (dispensed free to infected men and women in many countries, including the UK) can often live a normal life. AIDS is no longer an automatic death sentence. So the context in which Ann Richardson has reissued her book of testimonies from people living with (or dying from) HIV/AIDS has changed considerably over the two decades since she and her (now deceased) collaborator, Dietmar Bolle, first produced it. Nonetheless, there is a freshness and an immediacy in many of the spoken and written interviews with people of both genders, of different ages and from different cultures. The book is arranged thematically, covering major aspects of how people came to tmers with their condition, who they told and how and the sort of support networks they developed -- or their experiences of rejection and prejudice. The stories are often moving, even tear-inducing, and also occasionally funny. Yes, HIV/AIDS before drug therapy was a terrible plague, which particularly hit Western gay men and heterosexual Africans and their children. But what comes over most strongly from many of the people who feature in this important book is their fortitutde, in some cases their stoicism, and often intimations of real love.

[Lynn (Smile24k) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enlightening book and gives a close up look at real people battling HIV/Aids during the height of the crisis. As someone who was a young child when HIV was first coming to the forefront, I was shocked by some of the stories, especially the stories from other countries. We don't hear as much about HIV/Aids now, but this is a good book to read to reflect on how misinformation and fear can make us forget our humanity.

My one complaint about this book is the organization of how the stories were told. The book was impactful, especially for someone like me who wasn't old enough to understand the crisis at its height. However, I think it could have been even more impactful if each individual's story wasn't broken into small chunks throughout the book. The book was divided into sections like getting the diagnosis, telling others, relationships, etc. There were snippets in each section from multiple different people. Then in the next section is would be a mix of people again and some were the same from the previous sections, but with so many people and stories it was hard to follow any individual's whole story. It would have made It easier to connect with each person if the sections/chapters were by person and each person's story was told before moving to the next.

[Scott Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1991, HIV/AIDS was an immensely scary topic for the public. AZT had just been released, but no one saw it as a cure. Some were even frightened of the long-term side effects. In the decade following, multi-drug HAART therapy transformed HIV into a livable condition, at least for patients in the developed world. But in 1991, the fear the words “HIV” and “AIDS” invoked – especially in those given this diagnosis – needs to be captured in the historical record. Thankfully, this re-release by Ann Richardson does just that.

This read covers a heavy topic. It’s not dark per se, but instead addresses difficult matters often not talked about, like death, sexuality, or social stigma. These matters are helpful to think about or discuss from time to time, particularly if they affect your life or an acquaintance’s life. Contemporary readers can benefit from confronting current HIV/AIDS issues through a historical lens.

Richardson’s co-author was Dietmar Bolle, a nurse who died of AIDS complications shortly before this book was originally published in 1992. He wrote a moving poem that comprises its conclusion. This book contains interviews with dozens of people with HIV from dozens of countries all over the globe. Topics include: Being diagnosed, learning to live with the diagnosis, relationships, and reflections. At the end, such was the intimacy of the conversation that I felt like I knew each one of the interviewees in their given context.

Those who want to understand the psychology of illness can benefit from this book. So can sufferers of fatal diseases and those with chronic diseases. Healthcare workers (like nurses and physicians) can also read this work to gain empathy for their patients. The stigma and hardship of an HIV-positive result cannot be forgotten from history’s memory. This book brings real life to the fore to its readers. Although public health challenges remain, HIV and AIDS are thankfully not as scary as they once were. Still, in an era of global pandemics, humans can’t forget our common frailty in disease’s face.

[Anastasia Alén · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book describes unimaginable amount of ignorance, fear and pain. Men, women and children, small babies dying of a mysterious disease and no one knows what it is and no one has the cure for it.

"A giant 'Infection' was written above her name. She was asked to use a separate toilet from the other women, which had a red 'Control of infection' notice on it. She was miserable, frightened and scared for her children.
I realised what was happening and complained.The attitude was 'Oh, we know HIV isn't contagious, but we must follow our old guidelines.'"― Ann Richardson, Wise Before Their Time

There was a trilogy I read some time ago called Torka aldrig tårar utan handskar (Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves). I think the title of the book is enough to describe what the trilogy is about. And my point is that there are too few book like this. In Wise Before Their Time, there's a story of mother and her young daughter Daisy. She was just learning to speak. A little bit late in walking. Then when she is sixteen months old, she stops walking.

My doctor had to inform the funeral directors that she'd died of an infectious disease. So when they came, they came in these suits and gloved. They just wrapped her in a plastic bag and took her away. And, well, it just was too much for me. I couldn't cope, I just had to run out of the room." ― Ann Richardson, Wise Before Their Time"

A book full of incredibly brave people writing their heartbreaking stories on what it was like to live with HIV and AIDS. I warmly recommend this for everyone.

5/5 stars

Thank you BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jan Petrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The foreword by Sir Ian McKellan is a fitting introduction to these extraordinary and moving accounts from people living with HIV/AIDS all over the world at a time when effective drug therapies had yet to be developed. Most often these are young people having to face the possibility of imminent death and yet it is striking how often they describe the positives of such a life sentence - how they have come treasure the moment, living more fully in the present than ever before. Many are grateful for the supported by family and friends whilst others are far less fortunate. It's shocking to be reminded of the lack of sympathy shown by many health professionals at that time.
Though medical advances now mean that people with HIV/AIDs can live a normal lifespan, they may still have to deal with appalling prejudice and ignorant whilst at the same time coming to terms with the psychological impact of their diagnosis. I was surprised that instead of being a thoroughly depressing read, it was uplifting that in so many of these accounts the indomitability of the human spirit shines through. I found this is a profoundly moving book.

[Ken Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's intrinsic historical and cultural value is invaluable. Essentially a revision of a previous edition, it provides insights and historical accounts which would otherwise be lost to time. Simply due to technological advances, we have changed much as a society… therefore we have also forgotten much. These historic interviews are not only rare but also remarkably candid for their era. At times, the stories were alarming. No matter your feelings and beliefs on this disease, you owe it to yourself to read this book! NOTE: A copy was provided to me in return for a fair and honest review.

[E.M. McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise Before Their Time is an enlightening compilation of individual stories and thoughts from those infected with HIV. Many/most of these accounts are from the early era of AIDS and it saddened me to see how fellow humans treated one another. I was particularly disturbed by the story about a baby dying from the disease. Though there are also messages of love and hope throughout, I feel the book is a good educational tool about the stigma of the virus when not much was understood about it. An important read.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite a fascinating insight into the personal realities of living with HIV/AIDS. the kind of book that will remind you to live; to not take everything so seriously.