Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Positive: A Memoir
    Positive: A Memoir
    Positive: A Memoir
    Audiobook6 hours

    Positive: A Memoir

    Written by Paige Rawl and Ali Benjamin

    Narrated by Paige Rawl and Jay Asher

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    An astonishing memoir for the untold number of children whose lives have been touched by bullying. Positive is a must-read for teens, their parents, educators, and administrators—a brave, visceral work that will save lives and resonate deeply.

    Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth, but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her.

    On an unremarkable day in middle school, she disclosed to a friend her HIV-positive status—and within hours the bullying began. From that moment forward, every day was like walking through a minefield. Paige was never sure when or from where the next text, taunt, or hateful message would come. Then one night, desperate for escape, fifteen-year-old Paige found herself in her bathroom staring at a bottle of sleeping pills.

    That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning. Paige's memoir, co-written with bestselling author Ali Benjamin (The Truth About Jellyfish), calls for readers to choose action over complacency, compassion over cruelty—and above all, to be Positive.

    Paige continues to speak publicly about HIV and bullying, participate in conferences, and contribute to advocacy projects in and beyond her home state of Indiana. Paige has served as an ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She hopes that her continued work in this field can help change the way her generation thinks and talks about HIV/AIDS and bullying. To all HIV-positive youth, Paige consistently affirms, “You are living with HIV, but HIV is not who you are.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 26, 2014
    ISBN9780062345905

    Related to Positive

    Related audiobooks

    YA Social Themes For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Havenfall

      Feb 26, 2020

      RELEASED 3 MARCH 304 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Sara Holland Publisher Bloomsbury Adolescence is hard enough at the best of times, but throw in a murdered brother, a mother on death row and a high school full of bullies that really don’t apprecia

      1 min read

    • Article

      She Wants You To Know

      Jul 20, 2022

      It was the late 1990s and I was in sixth grade, when I first fell in love. Or whatever you want to call it at that age. His name was Peter T and he was everything I’d ever envisioned falling for. That is, after seeing the back of his head five-hundre

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Creative Hero’s Journey: 5 Reasons You Should Write Your Book, Paint Your Picture, Sing Your Song

      Dec 9, 2021

      Estimated reading time: 10 minutes — I used to be a professional disease hunter, a board-certified surgical pathologist. I was the M.D. in a white coat who stared at your skin (or breast, brain or bone, etc.) biopsy under the microscope and let your

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Letter To My Son.

      Jun 3, 2021

      A Letter To My Son.
      7 min read

    • Article

      Celeste Ng

      Nov 2, 2020

      Celeste Ng
      12 min read

    • Article

      Alyssa Cole

      Apr 8, 2024

      Alyssa Cole
      12 min read

    • Article

      Para

      Oct 15, 2021

      Once, I saw an alien—is something I wish I could say. For me, the possibility of extraterrestrials has always held a certain brilliance. Child-me at times wondered whether I was really from space, if only because the idea of being human seemed absurd

      15 min read

    • Article

      Me, Myself And I

      Oct 26, 2021

      Me, Myself And I
      6 min read

    • Article

      BOOM SHANKAR Sitting Pretty.

      Mar 4, 2021

      BOOM SHANKAR Sitting Pretty.
      11 min read

    • Article

      For All Ages

      Oct 10, 2022

      For All Ages
      4 min read

    • Article

      Ask A Silly Question

      Aug 5, 2022

      I SIT IN THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE. He asks: “So, when did you know?” I say: “Always.” Because I’ve heard that simplicity gets results. It is one phrase that has spanned my lifetime. No matter what setting, country or occasion, it remains un defeatable. Li

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Way I Am

      May 6, 2019

      The Way I Am
      5 min read

    • Article

      Awkwardness, Why?

      Apr 27, 2017

      Awkwardness, Why?
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Positive

    4/5

    50 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I just wanted to hug Paige Rawl after listening to her narrate her memoir. It's a story for everyone - for children, teens, teachers, parents. We can all learn from her story. She motivates us to be better to one another, to offer compassion and understanding, to recognize that differences are something to celebrate and not to fear.
    • 4/5
      I loved how this book is non-fiction but it told a story about a girl, Paige. Very good job?
    • 5/5
      This book was AMAZEBALLS!!!! I couldn't stop listening. It truly inspired me. I was bullied in throughout elementary, middle school Jr High school and High School.
    • 4/5
      Paige was born HIV positive, but it never really affected her life. She had to take medicine each morning, and her mom always kept a close eye on her health, but it seemed like normal life to her. She confided in her middle school best friend, thinking it was no big deal. Until everyone else at school started calling her PAIDS and keeping their distance from her, treating her like she had cooties. The bullying got worse and worse, until Paige was having stress seizures. She still kept her positive outlook, though, and inspires readers with her story.
    • 4/5
      Paige Rawl's memoir of overcoming bullying after her HIV positive status was broadcast around her middle school. Her story is inspiring. I had to listen to the audiobook for awhile and that was not as pleasurable as the story on the written page - the pacing and cadence didn't work as well for me. We had a great book discussion about this title.
    • 5/5
      Best recommendation I can give this book: Saw it while walking through Barnes and Noble today, and picked it up to read a couple paragraphs to see if it's something I'd be interested in adding to my "to read" list. Here I am, four hours later, having skipped out on everything I should have been doing today to finish this book (while still sitting in that Barnes and Noble). The title is "Positive," and while the journey Paige and her mother went through to get to the end-point of this book was anything but, the final message is still exactly that: Positive. I walked out with the copy I sat and read in just a few hours because (well, first of all, I'd just read the entire book, so I couldn't NOT buy it, right?), but mostly I bought it because I think this is a book I will, at some point, end up giving to someone who I feel could really benefit from the overall message. This is a story that will resonate with many, whether or not they (or you) have ever been even peripherally affected by HIV/AIDS.
    • 5/5
      Paige Rawl's memoir about growing up with HIV. She is about 20 (graduated high school in 2013). She was born with HIV passed from her mother. She is doing well due to medications that keep HIV at bay. But her physical life is different from her emotional and social life. When a "trusted best friend" shares her condition at a middle school lock-in, Paige's life turns upside down. Threats, bullying, and fear suddenly take root. The school is inept and tells her to stop being so dramatic. Paige must learn who her true friends are and how she is going to move forward. A powerful story that every middle school student should read.
    • 5/5
      Paige is HIV positive and has been since birth. Her father cheated on her mom and infected her before she gave birth to Paige. Her father has since died of AIDS but Paige and her mom, thanks to her mom’s diligence, are doing well. However, when Paige confided to her best friend her health condition, this friend spread it around school and the bullying began. It got to the point she withdrew from school and learned at home for a year. On the plus side, she made new friends, got involved in a new charter school where bullying was simply not tolerated and got involved in the HIV community. Hers is a great story, from the depths of depression and a suicide attempt to coming to terms with herself and accepting it, even embracing it, as she moves forward in life. Her courage is amazing.
    • 5/5
      There are books that you don’t put down because you are obligated to read them, either because of a Positiveschool assignment or a journal review, which was the case with the book I read before Positive: A Memoir. Then there are the books you don’t put down because they are so good or so absorbing you want to/need to keep reading, which is the case with Paige Rawl’s story of the middle school bullying she faced and overcame because of her HIV+ status.At the age of three, Paige and her mother were diagnosed HIV+. Her mother contracted it through Paige’s father and passed it on to her. Their lives would never be the same. There was the regimen of pills to counteract the HIV, and pills to moderate the depression and loss of appetite caused by the medication. But that was their lives and Paige knew nothing different. To her, her disability or illness was no different than someone with asthma or allergies. So when she mentioned it to her best friend, Yasmine, in passing (“everyone has something”) the reaction was so unexpected. Within minutes, this knowledge was spread to other students who lost no time in ridiculing her, calling her Ho and PAID, telling her she has AIDS and making life miserable.We all know the impact of bullying on teens. We read it in the newspapers all the time. Teen suicide is on the rise. Cutting is becoming more prevalent. It was no different with Paige. She went through all these emotions. We also know that schools are ill equipped to counteract bullying, as was Paige’s school. One counselor told her to ‘just don’t tell anyone you’re HIV+”. Another told her “to cut the drama”. She was unable to get satisfaction through our legal system as well, unable to get a trial in order to make her situation public.Luckily for Paige, she was able to overcome this. She had a very supportive mother and some great friends who stood by her.Listen, in my mind, bullying doesn’t even have to be directed at a person. Even commenting amongst ourselves is a form of bullying. If you see an effeminate man and make comments to your co-workers, that’s a form a bullying. If you see a man dressed in women’s clothing and whisper, that’s a form of bullying, only because you are not seeing what’s inside that person and you’re denigrating him. And what’s the next step you might take? Openly commenting?Positive: A Memoir is a low key, eye opening book. Paige is the exception to the rule. She ultimately chose to be an anti-bullying activist and tell people her story. Most young adults aren’t able to make that leap. Most suffer alone, afraid to tell an adult or having told someone, watch as nothing is done, no or minimal action taken.With an Introduction by Jay Asher and a list of resources and facts at the end, Positive: A Memoir is a quietly powerful book.
    • 4/5
      In one sense, this is an easy read. I’ve seen it described as non-fiction that reads like a YA novel, and that’s pretty accurate. The writing is straightforward and the pages just fly by; I found it hard to put down and was finished much faster than I’d expected.In another sense, this isn’t an easy read at all. It’s a non-fiction account of the horrible bullying that the author endured after revealing to her best friend that she’s been HIV positive since birth. The friend soon made it known to the whole school, and the name-calling, teasing, and avoidance began.That wasn’t what made the account almost unbearable, though. I wasn’t surprised that kids would be awful to anyone different. What absolutely shocked me was the behaviour of the adults at the school, especially Paige’s guidance counsellor who dismissed her concerns as “drama” and basically told her to go away. The stress of the bullying led to multiple seizures of the sort more common among sufferers from PTSD, and all the adults who might be expected to deal with the situation were completely absent, when they weren’t actively blaming Paige for everything and advising her to lie about her status to make the problem go away. I can’t believe these people kept their jobs.As the clever title suggests, this book tries to strike a note of optimism about Paige’s resiliency in overcoming her struggles; she survives a suicide attempt and comes to realize that she can make a difference in the world. This is certainly an encouraging conclusion, but the journey that we take with Paige to reach that point is often a painful and unpleasant one.Of course, the fact that such terrible things can happen to someone through no fault of their own, simply because of the ignorance and intolerance of others, makes this an important issue to discuss. I’m glad that the author wrote this book, and I’m glad that I read it. As I mentioned earlier, it was a very quick read, and ultimately pretty uplifting. But I can’t quite say that I loved it, because the journey was sometimes so bleak. I liked it, and I would recommend it, but be warned: this is a powerful story, and it hurts.
    • 4/5
      This must be my week of branching out from what I usually read and being rewarded. First I tried and liked a book narrated in poetry, and now a memoir. These types of reads aren't usually what I go searching for, though I have read some on cystic fibrosis and eating disorders. But when this came on my radar, I just had to get my hands on it. A girl who has HIV and with a suicide attempt but has so much hope now and life so turned back into the innocence before telling her friends about her HIV status. This to me, reads like a fiction, but it hurts my heart to know that the cruelty and hatred really happened. It is based on real characters. Some for the good but not all. I couldn't help but cheer every time that Paige learned more about her self worth and was able to put little piece by little shard of the painful time in middle school when she was bullied for a disease that was not her fault, and despite what a lot of people are wrong about, is not easy to spread in a social situation. The relationship Paige has with her mom is amazing. Her mom's attention to detail and being a yes mom really touched me. She was doing everything she could to keep herself and her daughter healthy and have the fullest life. But Paige's voice is what got me addicted. Unlike most fiction, we get a deeper look into her background. We get to the see the pills, the doctors on one side, that made her childhood different, and then her pageants, where she gained so many people skills and confidence. At first Paige's friendship with Jasmine seemed so perfect for a middle school friendship. They were always together, talking about everything from boys to birthday parties. But I guess that middle school friendships, or at least not all of them can handle such a weighty secret. And though unfortunately this friendship along with Lila, Yasmine's sister continues to be a sore spot and source of pain for her. I was glad to see the people in the book that stood by Paige, who let her know that it wasn't right what people had said and done to her and about her. They shared smiles, secrets and helped to lift her up. I loved hearing about the Aids walks, the camp for kids touched by hiv/aids where Paige was really able to be free. I am so proud of her that she was able to turn something awful, and then share with others through talks about bullying and the relation to suicide, getting involved with law making, and hopefully saving one other person, one at a time, that its never okay to say or do mean things to another person. No matter how different they seem, they all have a heart and soul that can be broken. Bottom Line: Powerful message delivered by a strong young lady.