What if the person you loved gave more than just his love; he gave you his death?
“It’s hard to explain, but I saw the two of us linked by fate. He was the only person I knew with HIV in Nashville. He was my first true love…there was part of me that believed we would end up together…”
Nineteen-year old, Marvelyn Brown thought that she had struck gold when she met the man of her dreams. After countless failed relationships, Marvelyn has given up on finding true love and being happy. But it seems that her luck has changed or has it? A trip to the park sparks a chance encounter with Prince Charming. He is perfect; polite, gentle, and mature. Marvelyn is finally happy. She has a man that she loves and who loves her back.
Marvelyn lies in the intensive care unit of Tennessee Christian Medical Center helplessly fading away. Doctors are baffled by what has caused the once lively and athletic nineteen-year-old to deteriorate so quickly. She has been in the hospital for weeks, before she got her diagnoses: HIV positive. Marvelyn knows exactly who the culprit was based on the timeline given by the doctors, but she has no idea what HIV is or what it means for her life.
Prince Charming is in complete denial and to make matters worse, he doesn’t even look or act sick, so how was Marvelyn to know he had a disease? It takes him months to admit that he has the disease and that he has infected her. Marvelyn’s life has just been turned upside down and she must now face her biggest fear, being alone and exiled from her family, friends, and community. She knows her fate and begins to plan her funeral. Marvelyn Brown is ready to die…until she finds something to live for.
Follow Marvelyn on her journey as she struggles with self-love and acceptance in her quest for the truth behind the foreign disease living inside of her.
This book is the voice of the new generation of young adults, Marvelyn's message hits home and tugs at heartstrings, without the vulgarity typically found within a story of this nature. Her story mirror the all too common behavior that many teens engage in. The Naked Truth is raw and uncut. Marvelyn is straightforward about how ignorance about the sexually transmitted disease. Her story is a haunting revelation of the increasing number of young people continuing to become infected with HIV. Brown raises awareness about the misconceptions and stigmas associated with HIV. The Naked Truth ignites arousal and a sense of wanting to promote awareness within communities. Marvelyn's story is relatable in that she is typical young adult leading an ordinary life and suddenly she has an incurable disease. Marvelyn Brown could be your daughter, your sister, your best friend, your niece or your granddaughter.
2 comments:
I do agree that a book of this nature has the ability to raise awareness, however, it needs to be taught carefully. I have an uncle who died from complications of AIDs so I can not read this right now as it is still painful.
I heard about this book a few years ago, and have always wanted to read it. Many people stray away from discussing issues such as HIV. I think that many high school aged students would benefit from reading this book and would learn a valuable lesson about the choices that they make in their own life.
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