Nurse-cartoonist MK Czerwiec Reads From Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 5/25

May ’17
25
7:00 pm

’s (pronounced sir-wick) new book (Penn State University Press) shares the story of Unit 371, a shining example of excellence in the treatment and care of patients. Unit 371 was a community for thousands of patients and families affected by HIV and AIDS and the people who cared for them. This graphic novel combines Czerwiec’s memories with the oral histories of patients, family members, and staff. It depicts life and death in the ward, the ways the unit affected and informed those who passed through it, and how many look back on their time there today. 

Deeply personal yet made up of many voices, this history of daily life in a unique AIDS care unit is an open, honest look at suffering, grief, and hope among a community of medical professionals and patients at the heart of the epidemic

“MK Czerwiec’s tales of her nursing work on an AIDS unit chart a remarkable episode in the history of medicine. Through the lives and deaths of individual patients, written and drawn in documentary detail, we see the power dynamic between doctor and patient begin to shift. When cure is not an option, care takes on a new meaning.”         Alison Bechdel

Czerwiec is a leader in the field of Graphic Medicine, which examines the intersection of comics and health, illness, and care giving.  Czerwiec is a co-author of the Graphic Medicine Manifesto (Penn State University Press, 2015), which was nominated for an Eisner Award. She has also self-published three collections of comics, Comic Nurse, Comic Nurse Delivers Another Dose, and Scars, Stories, and Other Adventures.

For more info: www.comicnurse.com 

Here’s the Event Post for this on Facebook to tell everybody you’re coming!

Thurs, May 25th, 7pm – Free Event