Book review: Living Well with HIV: a DIY guide

A new DIY guide: Living Well with HIV, now out in paperback, is a collaboration between psychologist Michael Evangeli, community activist Angelina Namiba and HIV consultant doctor Rachael Jones – each with more than 20 years of HIV experience.

The result is a very person-centred book that connects the social, emotional, psychological, practical and medical issues routinely experienced by people living with HIV.

One of the book’s strengths is that the text carefully connects nearly 200 quotes and contributions from a diverse mix of people living with HIV, who share their experiences and bring global perspectives. This is especially helpful for anyone who is recently diagnosed and is just starting out – or who is relatively isolated for other reasons – because the diversity of these real experiences are easy to connect with.

Given how quickly we can all now scroll past and generally forget volumes of information in even an hour, we are lucky that these quotes have been carefully compiled in a real book – and one that is so easy to read.

One of the goals of living well with HIV involves coming to terms with all that HIV has brought to our lives, even though, as the book also often notes, we are so much more than our diagnoses.

The chapter on sharing our HIV status is individualised, measured and practical. The chapters on relationships – with friends, lovers, families and ourselves – start from our individual history and needs. Several pages outline different approaches to life-outlooks, psychology and counselling support, in case this formal support is helpful.

Everyone living with HIV is also likely to recognise their own experiences in many of the pages, and this in turn shows the importance of peer support and mentorship which runs throughout, reflecting the decades of community leadership shared by the authors and their friends.

Reference
Michael Evangeli, Angelina Namiba and Rachael Jones. Living Well with HIV: A psychological, social, medical and personal guide. Routledge. 180 pages ISBN 9781032886244. (1 May 2026) Paperback £15.99.