My Pet Virus: The True Story of a Rebel Without a Cure

Hemophilia, HIV+ at a young age, a death sentence, stigma, illness, a broken relationship... An unfunny situation told with such humour and grace you can't help but laugh. Shawn Decker's take on his life and illness is refreshing, compelling, and at no point does he play the pity card. Fascinating and fun - highly recommend.

this was an easy read that gave a small amount of insight into living with hiv. not as much as i might have expected, but some. he actually made it sound like maybe you don't need meds or can live for a good while without them (although at less than 100% energy, etc) which probably isn't the right message. he was saying, though, that taking the meds and all the concurrent blood tests wasn't something he was up for. i do think, though, that a lot has changed even since he wrote this; there's a pill a day and better protection for both he and his wife.

anyway, this was an easy read that was surprisingly light (although i wouldn't say it was funny) considering the topic. i suspect that the presentations that he and his wife do about living show more with hiv is probably pretty fantastic. i think this book probably outlived its relevance and meant more and was more meaningful when it was written. he and his wife do great work and i'm glad that he's still healthy and out there doing it. show less

Clear-eyed and wryly hilarious. Decker is an HIV hemophiliac, or as he prefers, a positoid thinblood. This memoir is charming and accessible, decorated with almost enough photos. The tone is just exactly right, and Decker never misses a laugh or an opportunity to educate. A delight.

Maybe I'm just turning into a horrible old woman, but I want to shake my fist at Mr. Decker and shriek, "Take care of yourself! People love you--stop your binge drinking before you kick up your hepatitis B and C!" Because, you see, Decker is a hemophiliac ("thinblood" in his parlance) who acquired HIV, HBV, and HCV through clotting factor. On the one hand, I have no problem with the idea that the goal isn't to live as long as possible; on the other, I find myself angry when people deliberately harm themselves in life-threatening ways, whether they have HIV or not. Thus, I am not entertained when Decker recounts instances where he puts himself at grossly unnecessary risk. Instead of feeling affection for him, I want to keep myself show more distant from him. Maybe if I knew him I'd have a better sense of what he's actually like, and what it's like to interact with him. The lack of interaction contributes to my dislike of this persona.

It doesn't help that I don't share his sense of humor, so this humorous autobiography doesn't seem funny to me. I tell myself that the guy is in his early 30s and supports himself with edu-schtick about HIV. I tell myself that he has the right to influence his destiny to the extent that he can. I tell myself that there is other humor out here related to HIV and hepatitis that I do find funny. It's possible that I've just had too many friends and family members die of HIV and HCV to enjoy Decker's self-congratulatory descriptions of his youthful danger-seeking.

The narrative jumps around a bit and is somewhat confusing to follow as well as repetitive. This is an editor's job, not the author's, but doesn't help with my lack of empathy.

So see for yourself whether I'm just a horrible buzz-killing shrew and Decker is da bomb; his website is www.mypetvirus.com and his blog is http://blogs.poz.com/shawn/. Let me know. show less

Great book, captivating read!

4.5 stars

4.5 stars