Dr. Ross A. Slotten distills stories, lessons, and hardships from his long career in Plague Years: A Doctor’s Journey Through the AIDS Crisis. A prominent figure in Chicago’s fight against AIDS, Slotten gives a personal testament to resilience through the keen eyes of a medical professional. In beautiful prose, he recalls his fears as a doctor and as a gay man living amid a devastating epidemic. Plague Years is a precise memoir that details messy battles on local and international scales. Countering homophobia and apathy with action and compassion, Slotten balances tragedy with human warmth while making a valuable contribution to gay history.
Plague Years: A Doctor’s Journey Through the AIDS Crisis, by Ross A. Slotten, M.D. Published by the University of Chicago Press. The editor is Timothy Mennel. Plague Years is a finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction; the winner will be announced on May 12.