Stop escaping. Come back to reality. Stay on the path.
Our reverence for independence takes no account of the reality of what happens in life: sooner or later, independence will become impossible. Serious illness or infirmity will strike. It is as inevitable as sunset. And then a new question arises: If independence is what we live for, what do we do when it can no longer be sustained?
A personal narrative reflecting on life, death, and the AIDS crisis, exploring fear, societal indifference, the struggle for representation, and the urgency of public acknowledgment of grief and mortality.