Book Review
The author of this morbidly hilarious memoir is Shawn Decker, a celebrity in the AIDS community and a co-educator with his wife about the issues he has dealt with since childhood. Not only does his sense of humor seriously appeal to me (I swear I dated this guy only his name was Jon not Shawn) but seeing as I have a background in education, LGBT issues and recently been knee-deep in death I was immediately drawn to it. I finished it in a manner of hours. It was educational, witty and philosophical is surprising ways. It could have been a little longer and was slightly anti-climatic but a must-read for those filled with self-pity, needing a new look on living with death and/or a fatal disease or someone just needing a pick-me-up. This guy has overcome obstacles I would have been a lot more pitiful about and has managed to spend the energy he has left at the end of the day to spread the word. He's also an avid supporter of condom use! I was surprised to find his family and friends so supportive even though he's from a small town in what any good northern would refer to as "The South". He challenged many of my perceptions, and I am more enlightened than a lot about such issues, so it was humbling in a good way. Anyway you should check it out or at least his website www.mypetvirus.com. However, if you're one of those politically correct people with a chip on your shoulder then you might want to steer clear of his work. He is unapologectic about his status and his take on using humor to create a comfort zone for education to happen.