Positive: A Memoir
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Positive: A Memoir Hardcover – August 26, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
Review
''Rawl and Benjamin deftly capture the mindset of middle schooler Paige with anecdotes that reveal the teen's innocence and naivete, tracking her progress toward adulthood. They tackle tough subjects such as suicide delicately but honestly. Readers will come away feeling inspired by Rawl's work as an HIV/AIDS speaker and anti-bullying advocate.'' --Kirkus Reviews
''This realistic and honest biography of a young woman living with HIV will draw readers in, shedding light on this difficult topic . . . Through short chapters, teens will get a sense of the girl's life, including her happy childhood, the strong bond between her and her mother, and the difficulties she faced, as well as gain accessible information on HIV/AIDS.'' --Library Journal --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
''This realistic and honest biography of a young woman living with HIV will draw readers in, shedding light on this difficult topic . . . Through short chapters, teens will get a sense of the girl's life, including her happy childhood, the strong bond between her and her mother, and the difficulties she faced, as well as gain accessible information on HIV/AIDS.'' --Library Journal --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
From the Back Cover
Paige Rawl was an ordinary girl.
Cheerleader, soccer player, honor roll student. One of the good kids at her middle school.
Then, on an unremarkable day, Paige disclosed the one thing that made her "different": her HIV-positive status.
It didn't matter that she was born with the disease or that her illness posed no danger to her classmates.
Within hours, the bullying began.
They called her PAIDS. Left cruel notes on her locker. Talked in whispers about her and mocked her openly.
She turned to school administrators for help. Instead of assisting her, they ignored her urgent pleas . . . and told her to stop the drama.
She had never felt more alone.
One night, desperate for escape, Paige found herself in front of the medicine cabinet, staring at a bottle of sleeping pills.
That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning.
Finding comfort in steadfast friends and a community of other kids touched by HIV, Paige discovered the strength inside of her, and she embarked on a mission to change things for the bullied kids who would follow in her footsteps.
In this astonishing memoir, Paige immerses the reader in her experience and tells a story that is both deeply personal and completely universal: a story of one girl overcoming relentless bullying by choosing to be Positive.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By
Herblady22
VINE VOICE on August 10, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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Paige Rawl is an all-American girl- popular, an "A" student, a cheerleader, beauty-pageant winner and issomeone who had been born with HIV, stabilized by a good regime of medication. Life was good. Until she told her best friend, while trying to reassure her that every family had health issues. Hours later her middle school was engaged in a massive bullying orgy that continued unabated for years. When cheerleading on the top of a pyramid formation, shouts of "P-AIDS" her hated nickname, distracted her and caused a serious fall. Her principal and counselor refused to get involved with her "drama", her soccer coach who looked at her confidential files suggested using her disease to scare the other team. There were daily taunts in the hall, vicious notes on her locker and even her boyfriend was told to drop her incessantly.
There were no attempts to stop the bullying, to require good character on the part of her schoolmates or to educate them about HIV and its low possibility of transmission. It almost cost her her life, as bullying has done to so many.
She met others who were much worse off- a boy who had been injected with HIV-tainted blood by his father who didn't want to pay child support, a gay teen who was beat up by bullies and whose religious family couldn't accept him, girls who were slut-shamed after being raped. Inspired by the Ryan White story, she got angry and tried suing the school for not providing a safe environment. And she started speaking out nationally against bullying and is known for her work today.
This autobiography should be required reading for middle school students, touching on such themes as moral character, bullying, HIV-AIDS and making a difference in the world.
There were no attempts to stop the bullying, to require good character on the part of her schoolmates or to educate them about HIV and its low possibility of transmission. It almost cost her her life, as bullying has done to so many.
She met others who were much worse off- a boy who had been injected with HIV-tainted blood by his father who didn't want to pay child support, a gay teen who was beat up by bullies and whose religious family couldn't accept him, girls who were slut-shamed after being raped. Inspired by the Ryan White story, she got angry and tried suing the school for not providing a safe environment. And she started speaking out nationally against bullying and is known for her work today.
This autobiography should be required reading for middle school students, touching on such themes as moral character, bullying, HIV-AIDS and making a difference in the world.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By
dinglefest
VINE VOICE on September 2, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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Oh, how this book hurt and helped, with each page.
One of my children is HIV+. After we adopted this child, my husband and I lost our best friends. It stung. Our child has no idea what happened with these friends, because our child never got to know them, so this time we were able to shield our dear one from that hurt. I know that won't always be the case, though. So in some ways, I think that rejection was a good lesson for us to learn. I won't ever know what it's like to be judged or bullied for having HIV, but that experience was the closest thing to it. In losing those friends who wouldn't or couldn't understand that HIV was no risk to them or their children, we shared in the pain that people like our child and like Paige Rawl face.
Paige was just a kid with a chronic condition, having no idea that HIV carried any more stigma than her diagnosis of asthma. She was an A+ student, a cheerleader, an all around good kid. Then she shared her status with her best friend - her first best friend - and everything changed. That girl told everyone, and Paige was called PAIDS, mocked in the halls, and - in the most heartbreaking sections - let down by the very adults who should have protected her: her school counselor, administrators, and soccer coach, the last of whom joked that they could use Paige's status as an advantage on the soccer field because opposing teams would be scared of catching AIDS from her. I'm so thankful for Paige's mother, who never once doubted her and who understood in a deeper way that I will because Paige's mother is also HIV+.Read more ›
One of my children is HIV+. After we adopted this child, my husband and I lost our best friends. It stung. Our child has no idea what happened with these friends, because our child never got to know them, so this time we were able to shield our dear one from that hurt. I know that won't always be the case, though. So in some ways, I think that rejection was a good lesson for us to learn. I won't ever know what it's like to be judged or bullied for having HIV, but that experience was the closest thing to it. In losing those friends who wouldn't or couldn't understand that HIV was no risk to them or their children, we shared in the pain that people like our child and like Paige Rawl face.
Paige was just a kid with a chronic condition, having no idea that HIV carried any more stigma than her diagnosis of asthma. She was an A+ student, a cheerleader, an all around good kid. Then she shared her status with her best friend - her first best friend - and everything changed. That girl told everyone, and Paige was called PAIDS, mocked in the halls, and - in the most heartbreaking sections - let down by the very adults who should have protected her: her school counselor, administrators, and soccer coach, the last of whom joked that they could use Paige's status as an advantage on the soccer field because opposing teams would be scared of catching AIDS from her. I'm so thankful for Paige's mother, who never once doubted her and who understood in a deeper way that I will because Paige's mother is also HIV+.Read more ›
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
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I am a Book Junkie
on August 26, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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This book exceeded all of my expectations.
Every.
Single.
One.
I am so impressed and touched by this story.
Paige Rawl was born HIV positive. She has always taken medication at the same time other children eat breakfast, and gone to doctor's appointments when other children were playing sports. Paige never seemed to have a problem with this, because for most of her childhood, Paige did not know of her HIV status.
But times have changed for Paige. She was beginning middle school, meaning that a new reputation had to be created and upheld. This means that Paige would enter several beauty pageants, attend class lock-ins and dances, and make new friends. But one thing that Paige might not have expected, is the disastrous and painful aftermath of informing Yazmin - a friend she had known for the majority of her life - of her HIV status. She could have never imagined what would happen next.
POSITIVE is a story, but most importantly, it is Paige's story. POSITIVE is a story about illness, bullying and a lack of acceptance, but POSITIVE is also a story about new hope when Paige believed there was none, new and better experiences when Paige thought she couldn't survive anymore, and reversing stereotypes when Paige was invited to speak at several HIV-centered events. POSITIVE is the story about change, inspiration and hope. POSITIVE is just that, remaining positive when everything else seems to crumble. That is what Paige does best.
Paige Rawl has an exceptional writing style and a way with words. Her story clicks with me and resonates with me so much that I finished the entire memoir in one day. I never wanted to put this book down, and I never wanted the telling of her story to end.Read more ›
Every.
Single.
One.
I am so impressed and touched by this story.
Paige Rawl was born HIV positive. She has always taken medication at the same time other children eat breakfast, and gone to doctor's appointments when other children were playing sports. Paige never seemed to have a problem with this, because for most of her childhood, Paige did not know of her HIV status.
But times have changed for Paige. She was beginning middle school, meaning that a new reputation had to be created and upheld. This means that Paige would enter several beauty pageants, attend class lock-ins and dances, and make new friends. But one thing that Paige might not have expected, is the disastrous and painful aftermath of informing Yazmin - a friend she had known for the majority of her life - of her HIV status. She could have never imagined what would happen next.
POSITIVE is a story, but most importantly, it is Paige's story. POSITIVE is a story about illness, bullying and a lack of acceptance, but POSITIVE is also a story about new hope when Paige believed there was none, new and better experiences when Paige thought she couldn't survive anymore, and reversing stereotypes when Paige was invited to speak at several HIV-centered events. POSITIVE is the story about change, inspiration and hope. POSITIVE is just that, remaining positive when everything else seems to crumble. That is what Paige does best.
Paige Rawl has an exceptional writing style and a way with words. Her story clicks with me and resonates with me so much that I finished the entire memoir in one day. I never wanted to put this book down, and I never wanted the telling of her story to end.Read more ›
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