Surviving The Fall: The Personal Journey of an AIDS Doctor

This book by Dr. Peter Selwyn, is a memoir of the first decade of the AIDS epidemic. The physician whose encounters with his dying patients allowed him to come to terms with his own losses, history, and family secrets. Selwyn has an important message for anyone dealing with the challenges of living, dying, and being human. 

This story can help us see AIDS (and any life-threatening illness) as an opportunity to go through our own fear, pain, and darkness and to come out on the other side. Recognizing the darkness and passing through it, observes Dr. Selwyn, is essential  for anyone who would like  to be an effective caregiver, whether professional or personal. It is a process that can teach us how to accompany patients or loved ones through illness.