{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566631645?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"1566631645","authors":["Robert Klitzman"],"book_id":"9781566631648","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/being-positive-9781566631648","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781566631648.jpg?v=1bf0d1a46a040158","description":"Being Positive gives us the clearest picture we have of what life is like for people who have been diagnosed HIV positive. Based upon unique in-depth interviews with a broad cross-section of patients, the book is remarkable for its candor and compassionate analysis. The people speak for themselves. “Through these pages,” Robert Klitzman writes, “I have tried to present a picture—a group portrait—and a sense of the fabric and texture of these individual’s lives. Their stories taught me much about how people find meaning and cope with apparently overwhelming difficulties.” In looking for patterns in these lives, Dr. Klitzman has focused first on the problems these new patients face—the uncertainties, losses, and taboos; then on how they adapt—their new life in “HIV-land,” their spiritual beliefs, work and volunteerism, family relations, drugs and sex, and denial psychology. Finally he considers the implications of this major new medical problem and how it has forced us to examine so many personal, political, and institutional issues surrounding illness and the threat of death. Being Positive is not only a humanizing antidote to statistical studies of HIV and AIDS, it is an important benchmark in understanding the lives and experiences of the people who are affected.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781566631648","publication_date":"19970801","publisher":"Ivan R. Dee","slug":"being-positive","subtitle":"The Lives of Men and Women With HIV","title":"Being Positive"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"MED022020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"HIV & AIDS","score":0.8533,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"MED022090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Infectious Diseases","score":0.754,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"MED022020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"HIV & AIDS","score":0.8533,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"MED022090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Infectious Diseases","score":0.754,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"MED022020","confidence_band":"high","label":"HIV & AIDS","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL000000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Politics & Government","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"HIV & AIDS","score":0.8533,"slug":"hiv-aids"},{"label":"Infectious Diseases","score":0.754,"slug":"infectious-diseases"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in personal accounts of life with HIV","Readers exploring how people cope with serious illness"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Mark Cichocki RN"],"book_id":"9781476664958","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781476664958.jpg?v=6a874d75be5fc14d","score":0.7816,"title":"Living With HIV","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781476664958"},{"authors":["Gregory M Herek","Beverly A. Greene"],"book_id":"9780803953611","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780803953611.jpg?v=4ab4c93b6c43761b","score":0.7681,"title":"AIDS, Identity, and Community","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780803953611"},{"authors":["Dion Kagan","Angela Smith","Claire Nally"],"book_id":"9781350259997","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781350259997.jpg?v=5325714f3d069aaa","score":0.764,"title":"Positive Images","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781350259997"},{"authors":["Gary Null","James Feast"],"book_id":"9781583220627","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781583220627.jpg?v=26940a4efdf62648","score":0.7483,"title":"AIDS","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781583220627"}],"topics":[],"what_you_get":["Themes: Living with HIV, Coping with illness, Family and spiritual life.","Reading lane: Hiv & Aids and Infectious Diseases.","Publisher: Ivan R. Dee."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.92,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers interested in personal accounts of life with HIV","Readers exploring how people cope with serious illness"],"themes":["Living with HIV","Coping with illness","Family and spiritual life"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":2,"goodreads_ratings_count":2,"goodreads_reviews_count":1,"quality_score":0.82}}