Living Well with HIV and AIDS

A cross between a self-help motivational discourse and an easy-to-follow health manual, this book offers invaluable advice to those entering the territory of AIDS. While the approach here is by no means a comprehensive look at the problems of living with HIV, the authors (a doctor at UC/San Diego and three health professionals affiliated with Stanford University Patient Education Research Center) provide practical suggestions to make living with the illness more bearable. The prose is straightforward, sometimes to the point of dullness, but the overall businesslike approach serves to simplify the translation of complicated medical information into easy-to-follow, step-by-step charts. The simple language diminishes confusion and does much to relieve the sense of helplessness that the disease often precipitates. The authors offer advice on everything from stress and pain management to coughs and doctors. Most useful are Part 2, ""Managing Symptoms,"" with charts on when to seek medical help, and Part 4, ""Managing Health Care,"" with suggestions for communicating clearly with doctors and pharmacists. Suggested reading lists and legal information about such matters as durable power of attorney for health care are a vital part of this HIV/AIDS program in which readers are urged to become active managers of their own health care. (Sept.)