Seasons of Grief and Grace: A Sister's Story of AIDS [Hardcover]

Susan Ford Wiltshire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

When disaster struck and her brother John was diagnosed with AIDS, Susan Ford Wiltshire and her brother began an agonizing but special journey together. This is the story of that journey--a story of finding possibilities rather than resignation, of finding strength instead of defeat. Wiltshire's memoir gives voice to all family members touched by this terrible disease.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This intensely personal, inspirational story by Vanderbilt Univ. classics scholar Wiltshire (Greece, Rome, and the Bill of Rights) narrates her "vigil" with her younger brother, John Ford, a former Department of Agriculture officer who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and died in 1993. The author, whom John called his "most important friend," uses excerpts from her journal to trace the patient's spiritual odyssey and the involvement by the West Texas extended family in the "enormous social calamity" as members of the AIDS community. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This is a sister's story of her much beloved brother--her "other wing" and "littermate"--as they moved through childhood together and then as she journeyed into his adult life when she first learned he was gay, then, later, that he was HIV-positive, and then, yet later, that he had full-blown AIDS. John Ford moved to the Southwest with his life partner, only to find that his real estate holdings in Washington, D.C.--his well-planned hedge against future medical expenses--were unsalable. As his finances crumbled, his fevers soared, and his T-cell counts plummeted, John distanced himself from his sister, not telephoning during increasingly frequent bouts of illness. Susan tried coping with her grief, rage, and fear by limiting crying bouts to specified times, writing many letters, praying, and reading every available account of the AIDS crisis. Her book includes perhaps too many of those letters as well as a list of books she found helpful. Whitney Scott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Vanderbilt Univ Pr; 1st edition (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826512615
• ISBN-13: 978-0826512611
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,219,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational!, April 9, 2003

By 

Duane Simolke "author, The Acorn Stories, Deg... (Lubbock, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seasons of Grief & Grace: A Sister's Story of AIDS (Paperback)

I live in Lubbock, Texas, where much of this story takes place, and I happen to know some of the people Dr. Ford mentions. But that was hardly the only reason I wanted to read this compassionate biography. Dr. Ford shows how her brother bravely faced AIDS and the bigotry related to it.

Despite its subject matter, this book is never depressing. Instead, Dr. Ford captures the inspirational aspects of her brother's life and how it touched the lives of people around him. I found her poems about his struggle especially touching and hope she'll share more of those in another book.

Duane Simolke .....