Books
These stories aim to promote the visibility of people living with HIV and AIDS, and to celebrate the positive lives of a diversity of people. Our books promote a less stigmatised environment for HIV disclosure, acceptance and living positively.
Telling stories of positive lives
These stories aim to promote the visibility of people living with HIV and AIDS, and to celebrate the positive lives of a diversity of people. Our books promote a less stigmatised environment for HIV disclosure, acceptance and living positively.
Our story-telling series is an opportunity for mentoring, supporting and building the capacity of people whose voices have not been heard to tell their stories through writing, drawing, photos and using a variety of languages.
The first book, published in November 2007, was Clouds move, the life story of Derrick Fine, one of our trustees. Our second book, Umzala, the life journey of Openly Positive trustee Elaine Maane, launched in February 2009.
"Tragedies not only break us, but also leave vacuums that with time we choose to fill, either with beautiful memories or with emptiness. I have chosen memories because that way all my family still lives on in the stars in the sky."
Elaine Maane, Umzala, February 2009
Whisper not: our new Openly Postive short story collection
Our third book, Whisper not: 15 Africans speak out about life and love beyond HIV, celebrates the lives of 15 proud people from the African continent telling our stories of living positively with and being deeply affected by HIV. We share our personal experiences of love, loss, survival and hope, speaking out to silence the whispers, the gossip and the rumours that often characterise life in the age of HIV.
From the DRC, Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa, hear the voices of Nombeko Mpongo, Bonga Melaphi, Bhatupe Mhango, Jan de Groot, Anne Lebethe, Richard Mukuka, Ann Ray Ray, Christo Greyling, Zanele Mphikwa, Jean-Claude Puati Bazola, Nomfundo Xotyeni, Marius Harmsen, Malehloa Ntlaloe Kalati, Mthokozisi Radebe and Christy-Joy Webster.
In our first venture into publishing in mother tongues, we have also translated three of the Whisper not stories from the collection: Nombeko Mpongo’s Nakanjani in isiXhosa; Bhatupe Mhango’s Kufinya mandimu, kukonza chakumwa in Chichewa; and Jean-Claude Puati Bazola’s La sculpture des temps in French.
