Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival

Strub takes you through his own diagnosis and inside ACT UP, the organization that transformed a stigmatized cause into one of the defining political movements of our time. Sean Strub is an activist, writer, and executive director of the Sero Project, which combats the criminalization of people with HIV. A vital history of ordinary people rising up and demonstrating the potential inherent in this extraordinary country This is the most personally powerful and authentic portrayal of our collective history that I have read since Paul Monette's On Borrowed Time.

As a man who survived sexual abuse, rape and an HIV diagnosis, Strub embodies the shared interest of women and men who fight for human rights, and against any government or person intruding on our bodies. By taking us with him on his journey from a conservative family in Iowa to the heart of a global movement for human rights, Sean Strub gives us ideas, strength and heart in our own journey.

It not only vividly recounts the personal odyssey of one man's struggle with AIDS, but places it--with remarkable objectivity--within the larger story of those years. Strub is a dispassionate, reliable guide whose directness and honesty create considerable impact. Anyone would profit from reading this book. His heroes are the ordinary men and women who fought to save lives. His villains — and deservedly so — are the cowardly public officials, from Reagan through Clinton, whose opportunism proved deadly to others.

This take-no-prisoners memoir has the quality of a suspenseful page-turner, and will keep you reading until the final sentence. A History of Sexuality in America. Body Counts pulls back the curtain on a hidden half-century of American history, from closeted Washington politicos of the s and s to his interactions with a parade of American icons; Tennessee Williams, Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Gore Vidal all make cameos.

AIDS looms large, but the story never feels like a tragedy. It is the tale of a life lived in high-resolution, high-intensity, saturated technicolor. His Body Counts is a stunning memoir--candid at times startlingly so , courageous and humane. Much like the author himself. Body Counts is a powerful account of the epidemic's early years and the subsequent three decades. It encompasses the tragedy of lives lost young, as we lost Vito, as well as the triumph of empowerment, activism and survival.

Body Counts is a page-turner with moving insight and fresh analysis told in a compelling and highly personal style. In these times when the continuing need forservices for populations that suffer the most seems almost lost frompublic sight this is an important reminder. His direct and honest prose relates a familiar story of growing self-awareness, coming of age and coming out in afresh and compelling manner. I enjoyed the pictures that he included along with the vignette style It is hard for me to decide between 4 and 5 stars as this is certainly one of the best memoirs I'v read. I enjoyed the pictures that he included along with the vignette style chapters.

Feb 18, Jim rated it it was amazing. It's easy to admit being biased in offering praise for an author's memoir, especially when that author is somewhat responsible for saving your life, if not thousands of lives. Sean Strub's astute combination of activism, political pragmatism, and financial expertise combined brilliantly in his career fighting the AIDS epidemic. In 'Body Counts,' Strub not only shares eloquently written chapters, but his life and career exemplify the struggle of the modern gay rights movement and a community's re It's easy to admit being biased in offering praise for an author's memoir, especially when that author is somewhat responsible for saving your life, if not thousands of lives.

In 'Body Counts,' Strub not only shares eloquently written chapters, but his life and career exemplify the struggle of the modern gay rights movement and a community's response to the AIDS epidemic. From his youthful days as an Iowa Catholic boy, to his ascendance in Washington, D.

His introduction to the secretive world of closeted gay politicians and their aides eventually propels him further into politics. As he learns self-acceptance of himself, his body and his sexuality, the world of politics drags its feet behind him.

1. Poems For Intelligent Children With a Sense of Humor (This Means You).
2. Sean Strub’s AIDS Memoir Drops Names, Downplays His True Passion.
3. I Guess Ill Have to Change My Plan.
4. .

Failures and successes are given equal coverage. Strub's personal pains in his struggle with HIV follow the path of the disease itself on a national scale. His eventual work with ACT UP and his achievements in tempering the tumultuous group's protests and struggles are balanced with his innovative fundraising ideas. It was both wonderful and harrowing to relive these times through his experience. Strub's later successes and difficulties in creating and maintaining the groundbreaking POZ Magazine are, for this veteran gay journalist, quite fascinating.

While I recall many of these events from my own experience, or as told by Strub himself, to read this compelling memoir brings new light to a person who simply sought justice, to keep a movement going by offering his practical skills. His victories in simply staying alive are woven in with some insightful celebrity encounters, and of the AIDS activist movement's most notorious, heartbreaking -and yes, sometimes hilarious- events. For those of us who lived through these times, and for those who may never understand what happened, it's a must-read. Nov 13, Trish Anderson rated it it was amazing.

A Memoir of Activism, Sex, and Survival

Written by my cousin, a must-read. Mar 10, Rj rated it it was ok. The book is an autobiography about Stub's career as a Washington politico in the s and New York activist in the s. A journey of self-discovery Strub's life also mirrored the lives of a generation of gay men who came from the sticks to the big city just as gay culture changed because of the AIDS epidemic in the s. Truth be told, I wanted to really like this book. It is after all an important story that needs to be told. However, Strub's narrative is weighed down by the constant name-dr The book is an autobiography about Stub's career as a Washington politico in the s and New York activist in the s.

However, Strub's narrative is weighed down by the constant name-dropping as he manages to be everywhere that is important in gay history. Like other gay authors Edmund white comes to mind this need to detail important names and places hinders the overall structure of the book resulting in poor writing that constantly moves between time and space. This structure becomes repetitive and at times annoying for a reader who wants to understand Strub's journey. The book needed some heavy editing to help smooth out the story that Strub is trying to tell.

At the same time the book reads like an apologia and justification for the choices Strub made in his life. This sadly occurs too often in autobiographies. However, behind these structural flaws is a fascinating story that needs to be told. There are people who appear in Strub's narrative that piqued my curiosity wanting to know more about them and who they were. The shared idea that as individual gay men we feel constantly outside, a feeling we carry with us sometimes as a burden.

As we lived longer, the criminal justice and public health systems have come to view us, even define us, as inherently dangerous. Jan 17, Eddie Clarke rated it really liked it Shelves: A very absorbing account of the AIDS crisis, right from its inception to the point where combination therapies started to have an effect on the trajectory of the virus, told from the viewpoint of an intelligent, energetic, creative and politically engaged individual.

Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival

Sean Strub as a young man arrived in NYC just as the crisis was about to hit; in the mids he was in the final stages '90 in 9' with KS when the combination therapies arrived just in time to revive him, Lazarus-like, from his de A very absorbing account of the AIDS crisis, right from its inception to the point where combination therapies started to have an effect on the trajectory of the virus, told from the viewpoint of an intelligent, energetic, creative and politically engaged individual. Sean Strub as a young man arrived in NYC just as the crisis was about to hit; in the mids he was in the final stages '90 in 9' with KS when the combination therapies arrived just in time to revive him, Lazarus-like, from his death bed.

This is the first AIDS memoir I've read where the protagonist survives and has a productive post-AIDS life, so in that sense has a 'happy' ending; nevertheless there are terribly sad episodes in the book as he loses friends and colleagues, mentors and lovers. Strub's attitude however remains completely positive and pro-active.

His involvement with Act Up taught him that 'activists live longer' and it is marvellous to behold the many creative ways he brought his activism to bear on the crisis, helping to create a self-empowering community focussed on personal growth and survival against terrible odds. He founded Poz magazine and kept it running for 10 years through the very worst, battling to keep it going financially at the same time as battling the disease himself and losing his long-term boyfriend and his business partner too. I am a few years younger than Strub, and appreciated being able to compare his personal experience and reactions to these social and political upheavals with my own.

A great strength of the book is that his life-long political interest allows him to place deeply personal events within a compelling and fully explored wider political context. The writing is direct and no-nonsense, with not a hint of self-pity. Jul 08, Maggie Shirley rated it it was amazing. Strub details his story leading up to and throughout the AIDS epidemic, but there is so much more information about the epidemic beyond his personal experiences. Apr 26, b talbot rated it it was amazing. Mar 13, Victoria Noe rated it it was amazing.

Couldn't put it down! A fascinating memoir by a prominent activist of 30 plus years standing, telling the story of the fight against AIDS from its earliest days, and the human cost of the disease. Jan 08, Sarah-Hope rated it really liked it Shelves: Body Counts is one of a number of books being released this spring that reflect back on major social movements of the late 20th Century.

In graduate school in the early 80s, I volunteered in support of a local non-discrimination ordinance that included gay men and lesbians. The years Sean Strub writes about in Body Counts are the same years I was engaged in my own activism, and his writing simultaneously makes those years feel very immediate and very removed historically.

Today, at least in the liberal college community where I work, being lesbian is pretty much normal. In the period from the late 70s to the 90s we were definitely not normal. Roughly half the states in the U. Not only that, but in the U. Supreme Court affirmed the legality of these laws. That decision was finally overthrown in We had a president who refused to use the word AIDS. Congress passed laws prohibiting any AIDS research or education programs that included information on safe sexual activities for gay men or lesbian.

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Strub was politically active from a young age. Before he began college, he worked as an elevator attendant in the U. Senate, and he spent years involved in D. Ultimately, Strub gave up on his mainstream political dreams and began working more overtly on gay rights, particularly on the fight against AIDS. Political figures, artists, writers—Strub seems to have know almost everyone, and they all appear in the pages of Body Counts. Reading Body Counts will give you a detailed, accurate, engaging historical overview of this period.

It will remind you of the necessity of street activism, as well as more mainstream politicking. Jan 25, Charlie Smith rated it it was amazing. Here's my review as seen on my blog: I mean, it's only an hour away from Frederick. But even if I met Mr. Strub, I don't know that I'd be able to speak. In the same way, I feel unqualified to adequately express what this book - Body Here's my review as seen on my blog: In the same way, I feel unqualified to adequately express what this book - Body Counts -which is, in many ways, about my life, meant to me.

Body CountsI can't really write about this book. Strub is of the same generational cohort as am I and we share - at a distance and without knowing one another though it is entirely ENTIRELY possible we were in the same place at the same time much of the same frame of reference. But I was no hero, and he was. I supported gay-friendly politicians and voted for them while Mr. Strub cultivated them and ran for office himself.

He lost a lover and chance for happily-ever-after to AIDS. I lost a lover and a chance for happily-ever-after to homophobia. I loved the book. It is - I think - essential for young people today who take for granted the strides made to understand the horrors of the s and the atmosphere in which those strides were made. When someone who you KNOW is a person who truly loves you, someone who you KNOW is a person who knows better, someone who you KNOW has a soul and heart of Light and Love - when that someone allows others to denigrate you, or, worse, joins in, even subtly, in feeding into hate - who allows himself to be part of a story belittling you, demonizing you, not standing up for you - that is about a million times worse than any paint balloon.

I've been physically threatened by men who were threatened by my sexuality a few times as recently as December, in fact and I have been struck, pushed around, bruised up a bit by those who thought my sexuality made me less than and gave them permission to hit me; and all of that really and truly sucked - BUT FAR WORSE, far more heartbreaking, are the people I allowed into my heart, my trust, my circle of light, who bashed me with their actions, their lack of standing with and for me, their abandonment of who we were together, who they were at the heart and soul, for expediency and convenience sake - they made the easy choice to abandon and belittle, rather than the difficult choice of standing with and swearing to my Love and Light.

And that was the worst bashing of all. His journey will create in you a future inability to ever abandon someone whose fight, whose need, whose soul might cost you some sweat and inconvenience. You will be better for having done so. Jul 30, Ryan Dejonghe rated it really liked it. Your host is Sean Strub. True to its description, this book is a walk through a multi-decade fight of a group of fellow Americans, not just for equal rights and awareness, but also a fight against persecution and against fear itself—of having to stay hidden. We are living history now: Strub takes us back to its roots.

When growing up, while other teens were memorizing stats of sport Have a seat: When growing up, while other teens were memorizing stats of sports stars, Strub was stalking political careers. He knew the voting records, the election histories, and everything else about everyone on Capitol Hill. His zeal for politics brought him into the heart of it all. We, the readers, are given joint insider access. With no pun intended, we are taken from the ground, up. Strub started as an elevator operator at the Capitol, later given a job operating an exclusive elevator accessing secret, unmarked rooms of the Capitol with Senators and special guests.

Reading this feels like a true-to-life Forrest Gump movie. I love the historical interaction of Gump, and I love the historical interaction that Strub has with a LOT of household names. There are historical moments I remember from news stories, and now there are historical moments seen from behind the scenes. This book does not hold back. You may not even want to read this paragraph. Strub wants to share with you a perspective you may not be aware of, both being a sexually active gay and in being someone surviving a relentless disease.

I listened to this book via Audible, narrated by David Drake. Drake did an excellent job of keeping the pace and emotion of the chapters without being overly dramatic or—a possible worse offense—without being boring. His tone was confident and appealing. In the introduction, he built the energy of the protest in New York City, as well as capturing the realization of having friends about to die. Drake vocalizes other characters, giving a since of who they are: As an aside, this is my first time using the Audible app on my new phone used to use it only on the computer.

I could adjust the speed of playback, which helped if I wanted to get through it quickly, or slow down for understanding. The author is one of the lucky ones who had a seroconversion in the late 70s and is still alive today, thanks to having money for great medical care and access to treatments that not everyone could get. He got so sick at one point, he and his loved ones were preparing for his death. He managed to live long enough to get some of the drug cocktails that worked for him and his legions went from deep into his lungs to GONE!

• Body Counts | Book by Sean Strub | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster?
• Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival by Sean Strub.
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Along the way, he was a political activist and a successfu Great, great book. Along the way, he was a political activist and a successful businessman he bought a restaurant before he graduated from high school. Took a lot of risks and hits for what he believed in, and still has a pretty great life. At first I thought this was a 5 star book, but after a night's sleep and reflection I gave it 4 stars. He managed to talk about Rock Hudson and Rudolph Nureyev, and he never partied with them either. My greatest takeaway was probably an answer to a question I've had for several years.

They had only homophobia to deal with. They weren't dealing with homophobia AND housing or food insecurity, or lack of resources in rural areas, or racism and classism. It was, and is, important work still sorely needed, but the highest rates of infection are now in communities that are not represented by the largest advocacy organizations and not addressed by NIH or WHO studies.

Activists aren't blowing up giant condoms over senator's houses anymore or chaining themselves to drug company HQ.

Mar 22, David rated it it was amazing. One of the most remarkable books I have read lately - as powerful as Larry Kramer's play 'The Normal Heart' and so compelling that I finished it in two days. Near the end of this memoir, Strub states that - although a number of people have labeled him as such - he resists the word 'hero'.

If so, he cannot maybe deny the term 'leader'. Graced with entrepreneurial spirit from something like the age of 5, Strub grew into a man with the kind of leadership quality that was simply invaluable when peop One of the most remarkable books I have read lately - as powerful as Larry Kramer's play 'The Normal Heart' and so compelling that I finished it in two days.

Graced with entrepreneurial spirit from something like the age of 5, Strub grew into a man with the kind of leadership quality that was simply invaluable when people needed to step up to the plate in the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic. What Strub recounts is nothing less than unbelievable, even if it is simultaneously unsurprising: But, in spite of what I have just mentioned, this is not an overtly negative book. Strub details many things which went wrong in the course of his activism work - but they are certainly at least balanced by the many things that went right and brought welcome change; rights that were fought for.

The book would be exhausting if it weren't so 'action-packed' with important information about the era it covers which is not exactly over and about human behavior in general. This is a book of seemingly-unstoppable courage - all the more inspiring since the stories told take place while the storyteller like Kramer is personally battling AIDS. Feb 25, Laura rated it it was amazing. Most memoirs are simply that: It also details the history of the AIDS epidemic in the United States and the brave men and women who led the movement for education and equality.

Born and raised in Iowa, Strub became enamored with politics at a young age, landing a page position in the Iowa State Senate and in , wh Most memoirs are simply that: Born and raised in Iowa, Strub became enamored with politics at a young age, landing a page position in the Iowa State Senate and in , when he was 17, a coveted position in the U.

Congress operating elevator number one. While his youthful exploits are charmingly explored in the opening sections of the book including some great passages about the freedoms pages had to explore the chambers , this also was a time of great anxiety for Strub.

Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS and Survival, by Sean Strub, reviewed.

He moved to New York where he felt free to express his sexuality openly for the first time. This review was written for The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Read more of my reviews at www.