DANGEROUS INTIMACY: Ten African American Men with HIV

Dangerous Intimacy, Christopher Brooks and Christopher Coleman offer a collection of unscripted autobiographies of ten African American men, who are living with HIV. They have captured aspects of their lives from childhood on, illustrating the factors contributing to their becoming HIV+. They also sought to have the reader hear the stories in their words, as they were told to them. More than twenty men in different parts of the country were interviewed, with ten stories being selected. To preserve their anonymity, identities and geographical locations have been disguised. Dangerous Intimacy underlines two issues. First, it is time to recognize that HIV/AIDS is present, and growing, in the African American community. Second, we need to understand that a diagnosis of HIV is not a death sentence. All of the men whose stories are told has managed or handled the virus and is living a full life. Each story is unique, yet all share a common experience. They are African American and live with HIV/AIDS. The stories told in Dangerous Intimacy are a sobering reminder of the dangers of intimacy, unprotected sex, and uncontrolled and sometimes reckless behavior. Some readers will find them disturbing, even shocking. Others will see the struggle to overcome HIV and transform lives, inspiring. The men represent a rich diversity of the African American experience. One is a grandfather who grew up in segregated Chicago; another is a Viet Nam veteran. Others are fathers, married and single. They participated in this undertaking because they want us to hear their voices. Roque Florio captures the book s soul; He said, I wanted to write my own book before I die, but I believe this may be the closest that I will come to doing so, I don t fret about it though. If my story will help somebody, then my living will not have been in vain.