Personal Stories of People Affected by HIV/AIDS

African Americans Living With HIV: Memo To Me

We asked African Americans living with HIV: If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say?

Watch ≫

Newly Diagnosed With HIV: Memo To Me

We asked people living with HIV: If you could give advice to your newly diagnosed self, what would you say?

Watch ≫

Living With HIV

"I didn't just want to be an idle observer in this thing called HIV."

Watch Aaron's story ≫

Incredibly Loud, Extremely Close: The Day I Received My HIV Diagnosis

"Two weeks before, my doctor assured me that I did not have anything to fear. He didn't really see the need for me to be tested," London recalls. "Well, where was he now? Why wasn't he here to reaffirm those feeling?"

Read more stories about women.

How One Man Found Freedom Through an Undetectable HIV Viral Load

For Bruce Richman, this year's July 4th marked six years of undetectable viral load. He celebrated freedom from the years of isolation when he felt toxic to others, now that he knows about treatment as prevention.

Read more stories about men.

4 Things You'd Say to Your Younger (Positive or Not) Self

"I decided to reach out to a few people older than me, who have lived longer with HIV, to learn from them," writes Deondre Moore. "What insight do they have for a younger me -- or a younger them?"

Read more stories about young people.

Octavia Lewis Is Glad to Be Alive and Living Her Truth Without Apology

"So many other people that are of trans experience want to have a family and want to have love and want to go to school. I don't take that for granted," says Octavia Lewis, who was diagnosed with HIV at 25 a decade ago.

Read more stories about transgender people.

A Parent's Love Knows No Bounds: Disclosing to My Parents

"Disclosing one's HIV status is a very personal decision, especially to one's parents," Middleton writes. "But disclosing my status to my parents turned out to be one of the best things I ever did."

Read more stories about families and loved ones.

We Call Ourselves HIV Long-Term Survivors

"I am sensitive to the passage of time because I have seen lives with great promise left unfulfilled," Mark S. King writes. "I may no longer fear dying, but I am sorely afraid of not taking full advantage of these precious additional years that were once unimaginable."

Read more stories about older people.