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?

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Bridging the Gap: HIV

"You helped me feel empowered, and that made a huge difference."

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Trans People With HIV: Memo to Me

These strong and proud trans women reflect on their journeys.

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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?

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The Biggest and Most Important Conversation With HIV

"Trying to explain to the lay person what 'undetectable' means is nearly impossible," blogger Shana Cozad writes. "You go through all the motions and the basics and the common-sense stuff, but there is still all too often a glazed look of 'You have something inside of you!'"

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.

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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.