PODCAST · society
This Positive Life
by TheBody.com
"This Positive Life" is an ongoing podcast series from TheBody.com in which people with HIV living around the globe share their personal stories.
Episodes
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An Interview With Bernard Jackson
In 1999, Bernard Jackson's wife passed away in the hospital weeks after being given an AIDS diagnosis. That's how Bernard learned he was HIV positive -- but he was so consumed with shock, loss and caring for his young daughter that years went by before he was able to process his own diagnosis....
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An Interview With Oliver W. Martin III
In 1986, when Oliver W. Martin III was diagnosed with HIV, then called GRID, he wasn't alone. His younger brother, who was also same-gender-loving, was diagnosed at the same time. But for a decade, the two of them told almost no one. Only when effective HIV treatment became available did they…
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An Interview With Shana Cozad
In 1993, as a 21-year old new mom, Shana Cozad could not have been less worried about HIV. "It was commonly referred to as a drug user's disease. It was commonly associated as a gay disease," she remembers; "The stigmas and the discrimination and the unsupportiveness attitudes all around the…
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An Interview With Marvelyn Brown
After being hospitalized and close to death, Marvelyn Brown found out that she was HIV positive. She was 19 at the time. But she made a choice early on to speak out and educate her community about HIV instead of being silent. Since her diagnosis, Marvelyn has written a book, won an Emmy and been...
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An Interview With Michelle Lopez
"The secret to my survival is that I want to live," says HIV/AIDS advocate, mother and long-term HIV survivor Michelle Lopez. Back in 1991, Michelle left behind a partner who beat her and, she would soon learn, knowingly put her at risk for HIV. With nothing but her infant daughter, Michelle set...
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An Interview With HIV Prevention Activist Jose Ramirez
"HIV was just something added on the plate that I had to learn how to deal with," says Jose Ramirez. Jose survived sexual abuse, a stint at a sadistic boarding school, visits to war-torn El Salvador and being kicked out of his father's house because he was gay -- all before his 17th birthday. At...
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An Interview With Esmeralda (Part Two)
Esmeralda, 37, forges a successful new path for herself and her children, and manages to find love along the way.
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An Interview With Esmeralda (Part One)
Esmeralda was 25 when her husband died of AIDS, leaving her HIV positive, with one baby and another on the way.
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Gary: Growing Older With Grace, Good Humor and HIV
"I never expected to be this alive at this point," Gary said to himself on his 60th birthday last year. Diagnosed with HIV in 1992, Gary has survived the tragic loss of his partner, a bout with prostate cancer and a heart condition. In this edition of This Positive Life, Gary talks candidly about...
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Marama Pala: Living With HIV Where Everybody Knows Your Name
When indigenous New Zealander Marama Pala was diagnosed with HIV, she didn't have the option of telling her loved ones on her own terms. "Because we are such a tight-knit community ... news of my diagnosis spread like wildfire," she explains. In this interview, Marama talks about being an…
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Enrique Franco: Living Openly as a Gay, Positive Man in the Hispanic Community
The U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy got Enrique Franco discharged from the Army. It also, oddly, was the reason he found out he was HIV positive. As Franco explains in this moving interview, diagnosis turned his life upside down, but he's now standing tall. "This is my body, this…
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Former Pop Star Sherri Lewis Talks About Living With HIV
In 1987, Sherri Lewis, who had been the singer in a popular New York City rock band and had appeared on national TV, decided to settle down and get married. But a few months before the wedding, she learned she was HIV positive. She was crushed by the test results. Her fiance, it turned out, was…
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Justin B. Smith, Openly Positive and Living Without Stigma
Justin B. Smith may be one of the most public African Americans living with HIV: He has his own blog and Web site, and he's even on YouTube. And who can blame him? Only 29, he already has an incredible story to tell. Justin admits he used to live "a very dangerous life," but since his diagnosis...
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Coping With HIV: A Lifelong Journey -- An Interview With Sarah
"I can't say that I've fully processed my HIV diagnosis because it has affected me in different ways at different stages of my life," says Sarah, who has been living with HIV her entire life. Growing up in the 1980s in a small, conservative, religious community, Sarah faced all the burdens of…
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Jimmy Mack: A Long Night's Journey Into Day
When Jimmy Mack discovered he was HIV positive, it was 1987, and an HIV diagnosis was essentially a death sentence. So instead of going to a doctor for treatment, he dived into a different kind of medicine: cocaine and alcohol. His journey out of addiction was difficult, but Jimmy has now been...
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One-on-One With Lois Crenshaw, Diagnosed at 55
As a 17-year veteran of the Chicago police department and the mother of eight children, Lois Crenshaw knows how to roll with the punches. That may be why, despite being shocked by an HIV diagnosis at the age of 55 after she'd been raped, Lois has become a leader and a role model for older women...
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Ahmad Salcido: A Young, Gay, HIV-Positive Hispanic/Muslim-American Tells His Story
Since he was diagnosed in 2007, 23-year-old Ahmad has had many ups and downs. But as he explains in the latest episode of TheBody.com's This Positive Life podcast series, Ahmad feels many of those life changes have been for the better. Being gay and HIV positive is frowned upon in many Hispanic…
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Joseph: A Harley Enthusiast Talks About Life With HIV
Joseph rides his Harley Davidson motorcycle as often as he can. Harley riders don't often discuss living with HIV, Joseph says -- though he guesses that others are infected, since he says there are some in the Harley community who use injection drugs. Diagnosed in 1995, Joseph has a supportive...
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Jack Mackenroth: Reality TV Star Talks About Living With HIV and Fighting Stigma
"By the time I got on Project Runway ... I was so comfortable being HIV positive and being open about it ... that I didn't really even think twice," says Jack Mackenroth, a former cast member of the Bravo network's fashion-design reality show. The fact that Jack has been living with HIV since…
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Damaries Cruz: HIV-Positive Latina Puts a Public Face on a Stigmatized Virus
Damaries Cruz is an optimist. "When I was diagnosed [in 1991 -- five years before the era of effective HIV treatment truly began] I had to find a way to turn this horrible thing, this negative thing, into a positive," she recalls. "I had a choice: I could sit there and cry and let this thing eat…
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Shelley Singer: "I Didn't Think Women Got HIV"
Shelley Singer was diagnosed with HIV in 1997, she had no idea she was even at risk. Yet she had thrush and a CD4 count of just 54 -- as well as a family and an HIV-negative husband that she needed to explain all this to. Her deeply moving recollection of how she disclosed is only part of…
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Kali Lindsey: Diagnosed at 23, a Gay Man Finds His Voice
Five years ago, at the age of 23, Kali Lindsey was numb with shock. "The day after I got my positive diagnosis, I was back at work, pretending like nothing had ever happened," he says. "I closed off from everybody." Three years passed before Kali was able to tell his family or friends about his…
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George Burgess: Survival Against the Odds
How do you survive 27 years of active heroin addiction? George Burgess has been through it all and survived with a fighting, optimistic spirit. "I look at AIDS as an acronym: Always In Divine Service; Always In Divine Space," Burgess says. "I like being of service." George has been of service…
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A 10-Year Survivor Finds Himself: Michael McColly
Michael McColly tested positive for HIV in 1996. Since then, he's been on a journey of discovery, trying to understand the ideal way people with HIV can lead healthy lives and how community activism and spirituality can contribute to that health and help stop the HIV epidemic. Michael traveled...
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27 Years, No HIV Meds: What Makes Paul Tick?
Paul has been living with HIV for 27 years without ever needing to take treatment. He never thought much of it until the day a friend said to him, "You haven't been sick. ... Why do you think that you're doing so well?" Paul soon discovered he was one of the lucky few positive folks known as...
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Multidrug Resistance Is Just Another Obstacle: Nelson Vergel
An HIV/AIDS activist since his diagnosis more than 20 years ago, Nelson Vergel is also an advocate for regular exercise and good nutrition. After all these years, Nelson remains dedicated to helping people with HIV. He runs a few Web sites and discussion groups. He also has a full schedule of…
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An HIV "Elite Controller" Shares Her Story: Loreen Willenberg
Imagine living with HIV for 15 years and maintaining an undetectable viral load and a CD4 count around 2,000 -- without ever taking a single HIV med. Few people are part of this very small (and very fortunate) group of HIVers -- but Loreen Willenberg is one of them. What makes her so special?...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does This Positive Life have?
This Positive Life currently has 27 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is This Positive Life about?
"This Positive Life" is an ongoing podcast series from TheBody.com in which people with HIV living around the globe share their personal stories.
How often does This Positive Life release new episodes?
This Positive Life has 27 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to This Positive Life?
You can listen to This Positive Life on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts This Positive Life?
This Positive Life is created and hosted by TheBody.com.
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