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‘The Poz Says OK’: A moving memoir about having HIV and fighting its stigma
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Moving memoir: The cover of Amahl S. Azwar's The Poz Says OK illustrates the love and support he gets from other people online. (Courtesy of Buku Mojok) (Courtesy of Buku Mojok)
Both confessional and educational, Amahl S. Azwar’s deeply personal memoir lays bare his experience living with HIV.
If modern medicine has proven one thing, it is that almost no disease is a death sentence, and it is this knowledge that Amahl wishes to spread in his memoir about living with HIV. Amahl understands well that in recent times, the virus is not the thing that kills, it’s the stigma.
Being open about his HIV status is not something new for Amahl S. Azwar, an established Indonesian journalist and managing editor of Coconuts Media in Bali. Known for his incisive articles and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) causes, Amahl has been vocal in his struggles and acceptance of being a “poz”—a term for and embraced by HIV-positive people.
“I’m not proud of my HIV status,” the 35-year-old says early on in the book.
The Poz Says OK, first published October of last year by EA Books, makes it clear that Amahl is not looking for a pity party; he wants his life to be a “cautionary tale” for others—be mindful of your sex life, and if you test positive, remember that these three letters are not the end of everything for you.
Amahl’s stories—everything he learned during his 8 years of being a poz—make for a heart-wrenching, deeply personal read. These are the ups and downs of having HIV, and he shows that sometimes—despite all the healthy routines he follows and the medications he is taking—it can be a hellish, Sisyphean journey to take on. However strong you are physically, deciding to stay alive can be a rough daily mission.
Thankfully, the silver lining in this book is shiny. Amahl’s insightful writing shows that people with HIV can live a “normal” lives if they want to. And that single fact, he believes, can break the stigma the disease has brought on for years, and it might well save someone’s life.
