Tomorrow, September 18, is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, and to honor all those that are living longer and even thriving with a disease that has killed so many of us, I wanted to read this beautiful essay by my friend, author/writer, Melanie Brooks.  Melanie Brooks is the author of Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017). She teaches professional writing at Northeastern University and narrative medicine in the MFA program at Bay Path University in Massachusetts and creative writing at Nashua Community College in New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Psychology Today, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, The Huffington Post, Modern Loss and Solstice Literary Magazine. She is completing a memoir called A Hard Silence about the lasting impact of living with the ten-year secret of her father’s HIV disease before his death in 1995. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children, and two Labs. Read Don't Forget This Happened Be sure not to miss our weekly full episodes on Tuesdays, Scott Talks on Wednesdays & Sunday Edition every Sunday by subscribing to the show wherever you listen to podcasts.  We love hearing from you in the comments on iTunes and while you're there don't forget to rate us, subscribe and share the show! All of us at The Only One In The Room wish you safety and wellness during this challenging time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices