In 1984, Caulfield was hospitalized with a then-rare form of pneumonia now known to be an indicator of AIDS. A decade later, he doesn't consider himself a long-term survivor of AIDS, but someone with a workable plan of survival. Author of the San Francisco Sentinel 's "HIV News" column--adaptations of which form the backbone of this book--Caulfield and his research assistant Goldberg, an AIDS treatment activist and transsexual, seek to guide the aspiring AIDS survivor toward a new way of looking at the infection. This anthology of essays has one common thread: that AIDS is survivable. The book's purpose is to encourage the belief that restoration--partial or complete--of a compromised immune system is possible. Their guerrilla zeal and tactics have often put the authors at loggerheads with the medical establishment. The book is divided into two parts: the politics and realities of AIDS treatment research (which serves as an indictment of mainstream medical approaches) and alternative AIDS treatments (which provide theories, therapies and resources). The alternative remedies should be viewed with skepticism, but "no one thing works for everybody, enough information is available so that everybody can find treatments that work for them." In sum, Caulfield and Goldberg write as though life itself depends on their message, and maybe it does.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
These essays are adapted from Caulfield's "HIV News" column in the San Francisco Sentinel (coauthor Goldberg is his research associate). Diagnosed with AIDS 10 years ago, Caulfield has been fighting what he calls a guerrilla campaign against the medical establishment, pharmaceutical companies, and the less-enlightened government agencies. It is comforting to read an author who knows everything and has never made a mistake. Caulfield does not waffle on these points: "I have no survivor's guilt. I'm not one of the `lucky' ones. I worked my ass off educating myself, trying new treatments, and growing." For him, the good boys in the AIDS showdown include CD8 counts, Acemannan, and DNCB; the bad guys include AZT, Project Inform, and CD4 counts; and the ideal situation for a person with AIDS is having a trusted, up-to-date health caregiver assisting him or her in an individually tailored treatment program. William Beatty
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