The Screaming Room: A Mother's Journal of Her Son's Struggle with AIDS: A True Story of Love, Dedication, and Courage

Like a previous reviewer, I also took a class called Death and Dying. It is a psychology course at GWU that Pamela Woodruff has been teaching for many years, as the topic of death has always fascinated humans. I began reading this book early to keep ahead but ended up not being able to put it down. Often our class covers issues that remind us how lonely terminal illness can be. Doctors, hospital visits, and the processes patients go through are very cold and directive driven. This book sheds light on how important it is that we remember that the emotional trauma of illness is just as important as the biological trauma. The book focuses on a man named Peter, who got AIDS in the 80s, when it was newly discovered and carried a negative stigma. Peter eventually needs to move in with his mother, Barbara Peabody, who will end up taking care of him until his death. The book reads as a diary. We follow Peter's through doctor visits, AIDS support meetings, hospital stays, time with friends and family, and through the horrible situations he goes through each day due to his illness. We see his mother striving to help him. She struggles to keep him from losing his dignity and always enforces his positive attitude and hopes for the future. This book is not just insight into the the life of an AIDS patient, but also into the life of someone caring for a loved one with AIDS. We learn about AIDS, what it does, some of the medical terminology, but then watch the medical process and understand how depersonalized it is. We sympathize with Peter when he feels doctors are not making sure he understands what is happening. The mechanical medical thought leaves no room for emotional consideration and we understand how greatly this impacts patient morale. If not for his mother Peter may have given up long before, as without her it would have been an incredibly lonely experience for Peter, which it was even with her at his side. This book hits hard as Peter is nearing the end. We watch the disease finally wreak such havoc on his body that he loses his sight and eventually becomes delusional. There is nothing quite so sad as him asking his mother for a carton on the table that is not there and her having to pretend to hand it to him. The last fifty brought tears many times. However, it was the very end, as Peter's mother can tell it is his last night and tells him is it ok to let go, that is the saddest moment. Imagine telling someone you love that it is ok to let go, that it is ok to let the suffering end. That would be an incredibly hard and unbelievably sad moment for anyone. Before this book I knew of AIDS but had no real understanding of the disease or how the lives of patients were. Even today, despite there being advances, many people still do not have to access to help and die as Peter did. Those without medical facilities in their country die much sooner still than Peter. This book has made a great impact on me; Barbara Peabody's experience will follow me ind

Such an interesting read even though it was hard to get through without crying often. It's a sad story, but really worth reading.

This is a very honest, truthful account of a mother taking care of her son battling with AIDs. I had never heard of this book until I was assigned to read it for a class called "Attitudes Towards Death and Dying". I read this book in three days and couldn't put it down. It was so sad, yet you find yourself laughing, and the account is so honest, it can be a hard book to get through. It is also interesting to read about AIDs in 1984, when there was little research and knowledge on the terrible disease.

I read this story shortly after I had been diagnosed as HIV+ in May of 88 not knowing what to do I read it and when I finished I gave it to my Mother to read for her self, while the impact was different for each of us I think it let her know that she was not alone and I felt more compassion for my own Mother and have tried to make this challange easier for her and 15 years later I am still here

This story of from a mother's point of view of her son dying of AIDS is painful to read. You can feel his pain and her grief. Even worse is knowing before you pick it up that there will be no happy ending. This book gives a little hope, but more than that it gives a face to the disease. Read it you'll love it and I'm sure you'll cry too.