Love in the time of HIV: The Gay Man's Guide to Sex, Dating, and Relationships

Love in the time of HIV: The Gay Man's Guide to Sex, Dating, and Relationships

Guilford Press, 72 Spring St., New York, NY 10012. ISBN 1-57230-843-5. $16.95.
Michael Mancilla, Lisa Troshinsky. 2003.

"Relationships are hard work, as any trip to the self-help section of your local bookstore will attest. Throwing HIV into the mix invariably makes relationships even harder-disclosing HIV status, negotiating safer sex, committing to another against a landscape of uncertainty. All of this and more can be overwhelming and unnervingly intrusive." Thus speaks Michael and thus the reason for this book. It is a narrative written for every gay man, providing some excellent points to consider when thinking of a relationship or dating. The book has seven chapters covering the chronology of a gay male relationship. Disclosing your HIV status should be the first thing on your mind when anticipating a sexual encounter. The second chapter provides upbeat thoughts on how many men have turned their HIV crisis into an opportunity for growth, while the next three chapters explore the variable and rich ways HIV factors into relationships. In chapter 6 "we look not only at how men deal with various levels of physical health but also at how to recognize a healthy relationship-and how to leave an unhealthy one." The seventh chapter deals with the loss of a loved one. There is some legal advice in an appendix. This is a good upbeat guide that should help those who are positive realize that they are not suddenly banned from the gay society into a lonely realm. Recommended for personal libraries and a good candidate for public and academic libraries.

Keywords: Sexual Behavior; Prevention; Health and Hygiene; Intimacy; Life Skills Guides
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