THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF STORYTELLING
IN THEIR PRESENCE, the singular and lucid memoir by Dale Napolin Bratter is a unique example of the transformative power of storytelling. Embedded in the chapters are never-before-told stories of African American and Black women, children, and caregivers searching for and finding strength while grappling with the grim realities of the AIDS epidemic during its darkest days. These people received the same terrifying diagnosis as gay men but had no powerful advocacy groups to take on their cause. They had little media recognition and celebrities did not speak out on behalf of women with HIV or AIDS as they did for men.
In 1995, as a new social worker in the Comprehensive Family AIDS Program at Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dale found herself swept up in the turbulence created by AIDS, a disease unlike any other because everything about it was cloaked in secrecy and fraught with stigma, misinformation, misogyny, and the overwhelming public fear of AIDS.
In 1995, as a new social worker in the Comprehensive Family AIDS Program at Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dale found herself swept up in the turbulence created by AIDS, a disease unlike any other because everything about it was cloaked in secrecy and fraught with stigma, misinformation, misogyny, and the overwhelming public fear of AIDS.
This profoundly revelatory book begins with Dale’s personal story, presenting readers with essential insights into her background and motivation for choosing a job like this one. Through her dedicated support of nearly one hundred women and children, readers will learn of heroic acts, intimacies, joys and failures – Dale’s clients’ as well as her own.
Dale finished her career at Children’s Diagnostic after a decade of service. As a result, she is authoritatively accomplished to write with clarity, insight, wisdom, and compassion about the challenges faced by women and children whose lives and struggles were routinely eclipsed by the more extensively told narratives of men with HIV/AIDS. This essential addition to women’s literature shines a vivid spotlight on the overlooked experiences of marginalized individuals, emphasizing the importance of their voices and stories in the broader narrative of history.
Dale finished her career at Children’s Diagnostic after a decade of service. As a result, she is authoritatively accomplished to write with clarity, insight, wisdom, and compassion about the challenges faced by women and children whose lives and struggles were routinely eclipsed by the more extensively told narratives of men with HIV/AIDS. This essential addition to women’s literature shines a vivid spotlight on the overlooked experiences of marginalized individuals, emphasizing the importance of their voices and stories in the broader narrative of history.