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Related Pieces
Piece Description
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. Thinking back to her family friend she, “can’t forget the anger, the confusion. To watch a man in his early thirties die of pneumonia, because his immune system couldn’t fight back.” (Aired locally in SF Bay Area)
4 Comments
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Review of Losing a Friend to AIDSA.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. |
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Review of Losing a Friend to AIDSLeah 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. |
Broadcast History
Aired locally in SF Bay Area
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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.