Title: Stigma!
Description: A truthful, compassionate true story of a young couple in love, with a difference!  Both Kevin and Jo-Anne met as students in the North East of England and Kevin struggled to find answers about the pain he had suffered everyday from birth.  He was born with Haemophilia during a time when there was very little treatment available.  His life experiences were somewhat limited and thankfully he had a wonderful, caring family surrounding him.  When he met Jo-Anne, he was struck by her vitality, her vivacious capture of life, her creativeness and her seriousness of being a Christian.  After three years of attending university, Kevin marvelled at landing a job down in Hertfordshire.  The time was right and so they were married.  After years of stretching their student loans, now Kevin and Jo-Anne could afford some luxuries and spent many trips over to Europe and after attending a Christian conference Kevin became a Christian.  
Months later, after a magnificently extravagant Christmas with their parents, on returning home tragedy struck - in the form of a bombshell letter of blood test results.  The results showed that Kevin had contracted AIDS/HIV from infected blood products that were a part of his treatment for Haemophilia.  1985 saw illness after opportune illness weaken Kevin so much that he had to give up his hard-earned position as a lecturer.  Jo-Anne eventually had to give up work to look after him.  Trips to the hospital became routine but the couple had hope.
The book makes a compelling read as Kevin's illness follows the media campaign at the time when the public were hearing more and more about this 'new' disease - HIV/AIDS.  Misunderstanding showed it's ugly head in stigmatism claiming HIV/AIDS patients had only their lifestyles to blame (i.e. using drugs, sharing needles and having unprotected sex - specifically targetting gay, sexual practices).  Read how Kevin and Jo-Anne overcame callous treatment from surprising members of the community in which they lived and find out who really cared for them when situations became too painful to bear.
Subjects: HIV/AIDS, STIGMA, Christianity
Places: Letchworth, Addenbrookes
Time periods: 1981-1987