Women's Experiences With HIV/AIDS: Mending Fractured Selves

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Summary: Women's Experiences With HIV/AIDS: Mending Fractured Selves
Review: Ciambrone examines the impact of HIV/AIDS on women, the fastest-growing subgroup of the HIV-infected population of the US. Based on interviews with 37 HIV-infected women, the book gives voice to their experiences. These women speak candidly about the impact of illness on their lives in interviews that highlight key issues pertinent to living with the infection, including the everyday impact of an HIV diagnosis and the effect of the disease on women's social and familial roles. Their stories detail their ongoing efforts (with varying degrees of success) to come to grips with the disease as they try to rebuild their lives. Ciambrone chronicles the lives of these women in her study so the reader has the sense of being a silent observer of their lives. She emphasizes the importance of relational resources, such as AIDS activism, support groups, and social support. The book also addresses potential problems for women associated with caregiving and presents ethnographic research findings (socioeconomic status, sexual preference, lifestyle differences) on the complex issues that affect women with HIV. A significant contribution to our knowledge of women and HIV, and to qualitative research.