The Way We Live Now

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had to come to terms not only with the impending loss of their friend, but with their own various and
unsettling responses. The disease, clearly AIDS, is never mentioned by name.
The person at the center of the story serves as a mirror and sign of his friends' own vulnerability. They don't really know how to become a functioning healing and helping community, but figure it out as they go along. The dark side of this story is its exposure of the lack of friendship and good intentions; some friends just back off.
In our struggle for a perfect live, we sometimes forget that dying is an inevitable element of living, and rarely do we experience perfect deaths. Sometimes we or a loved one dies before old age claims us. Some of us, still young, become ill with an incurable disease. Some contract a deadly disease that is contagious.
The heartening message is that communities of friendship can be strong, flexible and cheerful even as they construct in a time of crisis. The story suggests ...

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