My Journey as an AIDS Nurse

After enduring bullying by his brother and being sexually abused at age eleven, author Dominick P. Varsalone set out to prove to the world—and to himself—that he was not gay. Learning to accept his sexuality and finally coming out took him many years and undeniable strength.

In this heart-wrenching memoir, Varsalone chronicles this journey through his life’s key struggles. After high school, he worked on the railroad, a male-dominated industry, where he faced persecution for who he was. His homosexuality made him the black sheep of his family, and the Roman Catholic religion of his parents repeatedly beat him down.

Called to nursing as a profession at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, he was able to get involved in caring for AIDS patients—some of them his close friends—and through their amazing life stories, he experienced a new way of looking at the world. While conservative religion seemed to focus on the Bible’s most hateful words, he learned that compassion, love, and care can be the true means of carrying out God’s work.

One person can’t do everything. But—as this story shows—when it comes to helping others, each of us can make a difference.