In “Living and Loving in the Age of AIDS. Derek talks about his 40-year love story with his husband Jeremy Norman – diagnosed with HIV in 1991 – and how they have helped save hundreds of lives of HIV-positive people through their charity AidsArk.
In his memoir, Derek writes about their 40-year love story, their lives pre-AIDS, J’s six-year battle to survive AIDS at a time when so many of their young friends were dying, how they helped to save more than 1K+ HIV+ lives globally through their charity AidsArk, and about the rich journey that describes their intertwined lives.
Derek wrote this book with the conviction that young people would want to know their story – the tremendous advance praise they received for the book makes it entirely clear they do.
“This is a poignant and heart-touching memoir which gives the forty year global HIV pandemic a truly human face.” Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, Past President International AIDS Society.
”This memoir is incredibly vivid, moving, and compelling.” Lord Chris Smith, Master, Pembroke College, Cambridge University.
“This book takes us on a journey into the very heart of darkness, and then, as importantly, out of it and beyond.” Del Kolve, Professor of English Literature UCLA.
Pre-Ordering available now https://smarturl.it/livingandloving
Our long-standing friendship and collaboration with Derek Frost, Jeremy Norman and AidsArk.
In 2002 thousands of people in the developing world were still dying of AIDS, even though proven ARV (anti-retroviral) treatments were saving the lives of people living with HIV in the West. Derek Frost and Jeremy Norman founded AidsArk that year as a response to the crisis.
Since 1990, FXB has been providing essential development assistance to tens of thousands of children, women and destitute communities across India every year with an original focus on working with families affected by HIV/AIDS but we were not in position to fund ARVs.
As Albina du Boisrouvray, Founder and President Emerita of FXB, explained to Derek and Jeremy during their first meeting, a commitment to fund ARVs for an individual must be a lifelong commitment and FXB was not in a position to make such a commitment.
AidsArk started providing ARVs to FXB’s AIDS-affected beneficiaries in Vizag in 2005, when many adults, couples, children and families were sick or dying from AIDS.
ARVs are now available, but support from AidsArk has continued and is still ongoing, in the form of medical support to Dr. Raju.
Excerpt from Derek’s memoir:
Our beneficiaries come with spouses and children; some also bring parents. All without exception are poor working people who show clear evidence of the hard lives they lead. Deep lines, caused by years of heavy toil and worry, cross their faces. Some are terribly thin. Those who are Positive still show signs of the many illnesses with which I have become all too familiar. Their children, largely ignorant of the plight of their parents, gaze at me with big beautiful dark eyes. Without FXB and Aids Ark these children might now be orphans; might be homeless, hungry and abandoned.
