Troubling the Angels: Women Living With HIV/AIDS

Rating:
Summary: Unconventional
Review: I read this book in a women's studies class. It is based on a qualitative study about HIV+ women. It features a collection of voices from a series of interviews with several support groups, and focuses mainly on the emotional/spiritual aspect of living with HIV/AIDS. The two researchers who ran the study and edited the book are as much a part of the book as the women are. They keep a running commentary on the bottom of each page reflecting on the interviewing process and their relationships as researchers and friends to the women in the study, keeping the reader aware of the power differentials that might have an effect on the women's stories. The book also contains several angel "intertexts" which I personally didn't find to be very necessary, but Lather and Smithies explain it in the book. Overall, as a person who's never known anyone with HIV/AIDS, I liked how it focused on everyday "living" with HIV/AIDS. The voices of different women were featured and it showed the wide range of emotions and experiences that these women faced while living with HIV/AIDS.