Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned - Softcover

Winick, Judd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805064036 ISBN 13: 9780805064032

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2000

Synopsis

"You are eighteen years old. You get up in front of a thousand people--your classmates, your friends, basically the people who make up your entire existence--and announce, 'I'm HIV positive.'"

Told entirely in sequential art, here is the story of the life-changing friendship between the author, a cartoonist from Long Island, and Pedro Zamora, an HIV-positive AIDS activist, which was filmed day by day on MTV's Real World San Francisco.

As a speaker and educator, a guest on many talk shows (including Oprah), and when his tragic death received front-page coverage in the press, Pedro taught a generation that AIDS was not a punishment for moral defects or a mere killer that reduced humans to wraiths. Rather, he showed how those afflicted with the disease could live and love nobly with intelligence, humor and great humanity. Judd Winick's compelling memoir allows each of us to experience the vitally important message Pedro brought us.

Inspiring, moving, informative, and instantly accessible, Pedro and Me could become one of the books that defines a generation.

About this title

Review:

Without the third season of MTV's The Real World, set in San Francisco, Pedro Zamora would have lived and died quietly, a Cuban immigrant who became an AIDS educator after his HIV diagnosis at the age of 17. But in 1993, he and seven others were selected for the cast of The Real World, and Pedro's battle with AIDS, his irrepressible good nature, his love affair with Sean Sasser, and his growing friendship with his housemates would become public knowledge. When Pedro succumbed to complications of AIDS in November 1994, news of his death was carried on every major network and made international headlines. Thousands of letters arrived from around the world. Even President Clinton applauded Pedro's bravery in speaking out to young people about AIDS prevention and self-esteem. Judd Winick, a struggling cartoonist, had also been chosen for that season of The Real World, and became Pedro's roommate and close friend. His cartoon memoir tells the story of their friendship and serves as a vivid memorial to a bright-eyed and gifted man who made more of his 22 years of life than most of us could make of 80. --Regina Marler

About the Author:

Judd Winick has been cartooning professionally since age 16. He illustrated the Complete Idiot's Guide series, and wrote and illustrated the series Road Trip, which was nominated for an Eisner Award (comics' highest honor). Judd Winick lives in San Francisco with former Real World housemate, now life partner, Pam Ling.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0805064036
• ISBN 13: 9780805064032
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 187