In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS (Series Q) (Paperback)

by Walt Odets (Author), Michèle AinaBarale (Series Editor), Jonathan Goldberg (Series Editor) "During the past decade, the gay communities in the United States have made a sad and lonely expedition into deep space, a perilous undertaking against..." (more)
Key Phrases: many uninfected men, many positive men, uninfected gay men, San Francisco, Woody Castrodale, San Franciscan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Being HIV-negative is not much discussed in the gay community. On the surface it seems incredible that people would need support services for being "well." But that is only if one does not fully comprehend the identification of AIDS with the gay male community and the issues both AIDS and gayness pose for society in general. Odets, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Berkeley, goes beyond the surface and digs deep into notions of survivor guilt, group identification, isolation, positive/negative relationships, "The Politics and Humanity of Gay Sex," and survival. One may not agree with some of his conclusions, but he will make one think. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.?Lee Arnold, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
For gay men who are HIV-negative in a community devastated by AIDS, survival may be a matter of grief, guilt, anxiety, and isolation. In the Shadow of the Epidemic is a passionate and intimate look at the emotional and psychological impact of AIDS on the lives of the survivors of the epidemic, those who must face on a regular basis the death of friends and, in some cases, the decimation of their communities. Drawing upon his own experience as a clinical psychologist and a decade-long involvement with AIDS/HIV issues, Walt Odets explores the largely unrecognized matters of denial, depression, and identity that mark the experience of uninfected gay men.
Odets calls attention to the dire need to address issues that are affecting HIV-negative individuals—from concerns about sexuality and relations with those who are HIV-positive to universal questions about the nature and meaning of survival in the midst of disease. He argues that such action, while explicitly not directing attention away from the needs of those with AIDS, is essential to the human and biological well-being of gay communities. In the immensely powerful firsthand words of gay men living in a semiprivate holocaust, the need for a broader, compassionate approach to all of the AIDS epidemic’s victims becomes clear. In the Shadow of the Epidemic is a pathbreaking first step toward meeting that need.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press; 1 edition (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822316382
• ISBN-13: 978-0822316381
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #396,526 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The necessary balm, March 20, 1999

By	"marrano" (Malibu, CA United States) - See all my reviews

No other book -- and no other therapist -- have offered such a cogent and searching examination of the psychological factors attending on HIV seroconversion. This volume has set the tone for the debate on "barebacking" and other '90s phenonomena. But it is much more: a recipe for living, with no definitive conclusions, although with plenty of food for thought for the thoughtful reader. This is necessary reading for anyone who has quarrelled with their own HIV fantasies, or with guilt, or dread. It is a book for every gay man who lives the way we live now.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive and necessary volume, March 28, 2004

By A Customer

In the Shadow of the Epidemic is an essential textbook for all mental health professionals. Set in a brilliant clinical framework, it retains in a stirring way a sense of the person within each case study; there is a wealth of knowledge balanced with a profound feeling within. I found that each chapter evoked a sense of pain, grief and loss. This awareness is critical in understanding the clinical issues that must be examined when treating this community. Every mental health professional must confront these issues. This book is the essential tool to accomplish this. I am eagerly waiting for the next volume from Dr. Odets.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courage and compassion, March 28, 2004

By A Customer

Walt Odets has had the courage and the insight to examine the AIDS epidemic as a crisis in mental health. Clinically sound, this is also a work filled with pathos and humanity. This book is a moving, thought-provoking, and ground-breaking exploration of the effects of a nightmare from which we have yet to awake.