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In 1986 Ruth was a young single mum, visiting a friend in hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas when she noticed a door painted red at the end of a hallway.
Behind the door she found a young man dying of AIDS, abandoned by his family and whom none of the doctors or nurses would go near.
Ruth stayed by his side until he died. She later buried his ashes in her family cemetery.
A few weeks later Ruth got a call from a different hospital, asking if she was the woman who ‘helped those people’.
Ruth spent the next ten years caring for AIDS patients: dumpster diving to get food, educating drag queens about safe sex, and keeping so many young men company as they died.
Ruth Coker Burks: How AIDS angel loved and cared for dying gay men pinknews.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pinknews.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
At height of 80s AIDS pandemic this woman sat with shunned and dying men
5 March 2021 3:05 PM
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A woman living in Arkansas in the mid-1980s describes how she found herself thrust into the heart of the rising AIDS pandemic.
Pippa Hudson features a memoire called âAll the Young Menâ. Itâs the story of how a young woman living in Little Rock, Arkansas in the mid-1980s found herself thrust into the heart of the rising AIDS pandemic.
Ruth Coker Burks had no medical training and no personal connection to the local gay community, says Pippa.
It was a matter of pure chance that saw her stumble upon the fact that dozens of young men in her town were dying of this strange new illness â and many of them, dying all alone, rejected by their families and shunned by even medical staff.
What I m reading: Author Fiona Sussman on her favourite books of the moment
5 Mar, 2021 09:00 PM
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By: FIona Sussman The focus of my artistic life, says George Saunders in his latest book, has been trying to learn to write emotionally moving stories that a reader feels compelled to finish. A few years ago, I had the privilege of attending an Auckland Writers Festival masterclass by this distinguished writer. It was an incredible 90 minutes. Saunders, who has taught creative writing at Syracuse University for more than 20 years, was generous with his insights, conveying wisdoms about the writing process and writer s life in an accessible, inspiring way. You can imagine my excitement when my daughter gifted me A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, a distillation of his Syracuse course, in which seven short stories by great Russian writers are springboards for examining the craft and reflecting on the significance of storytelling. I have just begun t