Love Is the Cure On Life, Loss, and the End of AIDS

by John, Elton

• ISBN13: 9780316219907
• ISBN10: 0316219908
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-07-17
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Summary

Elton John's first book is a deeply personal account of his life during the era of AIDS and an inspiring look at what we must do to bring the epidemic to an end. Elton John has dedicated the past 20 years to overcoming the plague and the stigma of AIDS through his personal efforts and the creation of the EJAF, which has raised and donated nearly a quarter-billion dollars to fighting AIDS worldwide. LOVE IS THE CURE will be the very personal story of Sir Elton's life during the AIDS epidemic, including his agony at seeing friend after friend perish needlessly. Through his stories of close encounters with people like Ryan White, Freddie Mercury, and many others, he will convey the personal toll AIDS has taken on his life--and his infinite determination to stop its spread. Sir Elton writes, "This is a disease that must be cured not by a miraculous vaccine, but by changing hearts and minds, and through a collective effort to break down social barriers and to build bridges of compassion. Why are we not doing more? This is a question I have thought deeply about, and wish to answer--and to help change--by writing this book." 30 years after the discovery of AIDS the statistics and stories of the lives destroyed and lost to HIV/AIDS are staggering. It has claimed 60 million lives, and there are 34 million HIV-positive people in the world today. For every two people who start treatment, another five contract HIV. Even in the United States, thousands of low-income, HIV-positive Americans are on waiting lists to receive treatment they cannot afford and many have died while waiting. Elton John founded the EJAF in 1992, and for the past 20 years the foundation has provided information, education, advocacy, condoms, medical care, and emotional support to millions of people, and most especially the people who governments and corporations of the world often ignore--the sex workers, prisoners, young gay men, gay and straight African Americans and many more.

Author Biography

Sir Elton John is one of the most esteemed, beloved, and best-selling songwriters, performers, and recording artists in history. His monumental career has spanned five decades, during which time he has sold 250 million records worldwide. His single, "Candle in the Wind 1997," a tribute to his friend Princess Diana, is the bestselling single in Billboard history.

Sir Elton has received numerous Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for The Lion King, and Tony Awards for The Lion King, Aida, and Billy Elliot. In 1998, the Queen of England knighted him Sir Elton John, CBE. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2004, Sir Elton received the Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime contributions to American culture and excellence through the performing arts.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), founded in 1992, has raised $275 million to fight the AIDS epidemic and help those affected by it. EJAF has supported hundreds of projects in 55 countries.

Table of Contents

Ryan	p. 3
A Decade of Loss	p. 27
Starting Over	p. 53
Starting Up	p. 65
A Crisis of Caring	p. 87
Confronting Reality	p. 101
The Heart of the Matter	p. 123
A Great Power	p. 145
A Great Responsibility	p. 177
Ending Aids Forever	p. 203
Acknowledgments	p. 217
Notes	p. 221
Index	p. 231
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