nonfiction, History, Biographies and Memoirs, HIV/AIDS, Anthologies, mlm, Gay 

Diary entries, poems by and for the dead, memorial essays, and general reminiscences for "those who died too young ever to use Grecian Formula" make up the 77 pieces in this anthology. Their subject matter encompasses spinal taps; surgeries; catheters; experimental drug tests; diarrhea; skin cancer; falls from toilet seats by those too weak to sit unaided, too proud to mess their bedding; the wasting away of young, athletic bodies; caregivers who patiently feed, diaper, bathe, and comfort; and newly found belief in angels. Abstract suffering is made personal by such situations as that of a white psychoanalyst in pajamas wandering the streets in the grip of AIDS dementia, followed by his black lover who dares not forcibly return him to bed because passersby might think he is mugging the confused man. A special poignancy is conjured as a sister helps her brother let go, reminding him he'll be reunited with all the past family dogs, particularly his favorite, which he'd rescued from the pound. - from Amazon Editorial Reviews