June 14, 2017
'The PrEP Diaries: A Safe(r) Sex Memoir,' Now Out From Lethe Press
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
(Seattle) Living beyond the fear of HIV is the subject of "The PrEP Diaries: A Safe(r) Sex Memoir" by American writer Evan J. Peterson, who holds nothing back about life on and off the first HIV prevention pill Truvada, a medication causing controversy among the gay community and much discussion among health officials.
Used as PrEP, which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, Truvada can reduce risk of HIV infection by up to 90 percent, according to the CDC. "We have this tool that can potentially eradicate HIV transmission, but only if people have access to it and know about it," Peterson said.
Known for his journalism on PrEP and other LGBTQ issues, Peterson documents his journey in this first book on the subject, available May 2017. There will be a book release party in Seattle at the Unicorn/Narwhal bar on May 14th from 6-9pm, featuring burlesque performers and a reading from the book.
Although the memoir explores the culture of sex-shaming that prevents the pill from gaining wider acceptance within the LGBTQ community, it also looks at the promise of removing the stigma against HIV-positive people. Some healthcare officials are also concerned that it may cause individuals to stop using condoms and lead to higher rates of other sexually transmitted diseases.
Mattilda Bernstein-Sycamore, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The End of San Francisco, calls The PrEP Diaries "a bold coming-of-age story about creating a queer sex life that matters... Peterson helps us imagine sexual splendor as a meticulously-crafted, kind and slutty, wild and loving path toward individual and communal possibility."
Evan J. Peterson is a Clarion West writer, volume editor of the Lambda Literary Award finalist Ghosts in Gaslight, Monsters in Steam: Gay City 5, and contributor to Boing Boing, The Stranger, and TheBody.com. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida State University and now teaches literature and writing in Seattle.
In the current uncertain healthcare climate, Peterson hopes his book will fire up the conversation around HIV prevention and treatment, which still affects over 1.2 million people in America alone.
