Brookline Books/Lumen Editions

Starry, Starry Night 

Provincetown's Response to the AIDS Epidemic 

Starry, Starry Night is a lyrical and personal story of the close-knit community of Provincetown (MA) and its remarkable response to the AIDS epidemic that has decimated its ranks in the last decade. Arranged chronologically, the narrative unfolds through interviews with residents infected or directly affected by the virus. The authors study the pivotal year of 1996 in detail, a period which marked the most intense communal efforts to combat the effects of the epidemic and also marked the arrival of protease inhibitors, the "magic cocktail" that suppresses the virus, at least for a period of time. The book not only documents what one tiny rural village can do in the face of overwhelming odds, it also offers a microcosm of one "turning point" in the AIDS pandemic—with all the potential victories and haunting, unanswered questions still factored within it. Appealing to a broad range of readers, Starry, Starry Night speaks of and to those who "lean closer into the hard work of love." 

Jeanne Braham, the author of previous books on Saul Bellow and on women's autobiography, teaches literature and creative writing at Clark University in Massachusetts. Pamela Peterson, a clinical social worker, works as a counselor and advocate for the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition in Massachusetts.