Summary: Hearing that her friend has had unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person leads Youth Radio’s Leah Chapple-Stingley to reflect on another time and place.
"Losing a Friend to AIDS" is a short, but powerful piece. When the narrator finds out her friend has the possibility of getting infected with HIV, her minds flashes back to an old friend whom she saw lose the fight to the disease.
The narrator does a great job of portraying how dangerous AIDS is and how at the same time is so easy to contract.
I really enjoyed listening to this piece because you could hear the emotion in the narrator's voice. She incorporates tiny details of her life along with metaphors that really make the listener want to listen. My only suggestion? Some soft music really would have brought it home.
A.I.D.S is an issue that affects all of us. In fact today is National A.I.D.S Awareness Day. In this story a youth reflects on the death of a close family friend. He died from A.I.D.S. She reflected to a few years earlier when her friends told her that he had slept with someone who was infected with the detrimental disease. She talks about how his body deteriorated and the anger and confusion she faced. It was perplexing how a once strong, healthy man could become so sick that his body could shrink, to the point that he wore the same size she did at the age of ten. The capturing element for me was, the narration, even though there were no other voices, the one voice I did hear was rich in description. The pacing was well done, and I was definitely able to put myself into her shoes. Even though the mood was sad, the piece effectively builds awareness in the hearts of the listener.However I felt like there could have been a little more emotions to capture the listeners' attention for example, music would have added a lot more feeling. This piece left me thinking about how A.I.D.S can destroy the human immune system, and destroy the lives of even the young and once healthy. Unprotected sex is one of the main causes of getting this disease, hopefully this piece will help, people to understand that A.I.D.S, does not discriminate, and it could happen to anyone who does not protect themselves.
Leah wonders why we sleep with people without protection, and as she recounts the suffering of her friend, I wonder as well. A loved one’s irresponsibility provides the catalyst for this poetic and personal essay. The topic lends itself to a more emotional delivery, nevertheless she does manage to mark a clear distinction between the casual “I’m thinking I’m gonna get this big, fat, juicy piece of gossip” and the latter “his bones stuck through his skin coat like death”. The story alone is enough to draw you in, but the eloquent writing is what kept me engaged. The piece is short and sweet; perfect for any show looking to reveal the human side of a worldwide epidemic.
This is a preety cookie-cutter story of infection. I wonder if our writer has, in the immortal words of Eminem, "seen that one movie 'KIDs.'" If not, she probably would like it and anything else by Larry Clark. I feel bad for her family friend but I am confused by the story of unprotected sex that begins the article. I actually wish we heard straight from the horse's mouth why anyone would have intercourse, unprotected or not, with someone who is HIV positive. Unless the reason is love, it seems like a mistake to me.
Comments for Losing a Friend to AIDS
Produced by Youth Radio
Other pieces by Youth Radio
Rating Summary
4 comments
Erika Mahoney
Posted on April 14, 2007 at 06:04 PM | Permalink
Review of Losing a Friend to AIDS
"Losing a Friend to AIDS" is a short, but powerful piece. When the narrator finds out her friend has the possibility of getting infected with HIV, her minds flashes back to an old friend whom she saw lose the fight to the disease.
The narrator does a great job of portraying how dangerous AIDS is and how at the same time is so easy to contract.
I really enjoyed listening to this piece because you could hear the emotion in the narrator's voice. She incorporates tiny details of her life along with metaphors that really make the listener want to listen. My only suggestion? Some soft music really would have brought it home.
Kyra Joseph
Posted on December 01, 2006 at 09:51 AM | Permalink
Review of Losing a Friend to AIDS
A.I.D.S is an issue that affects all of us. In fact today is National A.I.D.S Awareness Day. In this story a youth reflects on the death of a close family friend. He died from A.I.D.S. She reflected to a few years earlier when her friends told her that he had slept with someone who was infected with the detrimental disease. She talks about how his body deteriorated and the anger and confusion she faced. It was perplexing how a once strong, healthy man could become so sick that his body could shrink, to the point that he wore the same size she did at the age of ten. The capturing element for me was, the narration, even though there were no other voices, the one voice I did hear was rich in description. The pacing was well done, and I was definitely able to put myself into her shoes. Even though the mood was sad, the piece effectively builds awareness in the hearts of the listener.However I felt like there could have been a little more emotions to capture the listeners' attention for example, music would have added a lot more feeling. This piece left me thinking about how A.I.D.S can destroy the human immune system, and destroy the lives of even the young and once healthy. Unprotected sex is one of the main causes of getting this disease, hopefully this piece will help, people to understand that A.I.D.S, does not discriminate, and it could happen to anyone who does not protect themselves.
Dulce Maria Mora
Posted on April 28, 2005 at 11:47 AM | Permalink
Review of Losing a Friend to AIDS
Leah wonders why we sleep with people without protection, and as she recounts the suffering of her friend, I wonder as well. A loved one’s irresponsibility provides the catalyst for this poetic and personal essay. The topic lends itself to a more emotional delivery, nevertheless she does manage to mark a clear distinction between the casual “I’m thinking I’m gonna get this big, fat, juicy piece of gossip” and the latter “his bones stuck through his skin coat like death”. The story alone is enough to draw you in, but the eloquent writing is what kept me engaged. The piece is short and sweet; perfect for any show looking to reveal the human side of a worldwide epidemic.
H R
Posted on April 12, 2005 at 07:27 PM | Permalink
Losing a Friend to AIDS Review
This is a preety cookie-cutter story of infection. I wonder if our writer has, in the immortal words of Eminem, "seen that one movie 'KIDs.'" If not, she probably would like it and anything else by Larry Clark. I feel bad for her family friend but I am confused by the story of unprotected sex that begins the article. I actually wish we heard straight from the horse's mouth why anyone would have intercourse, unprotected or not, with someone who is HIV positive. Unless the reason is love, it seems like a mistake to me.