Eight Fought to Live

1988: 82,362 gay and bisexual men had AIDS. 1989: 100,000 gay and bisexual men had AIDS. 1990: 307,000 gay and bisexual men had AIDS. These are the two years Dr. Rosiello led an AIDS therapy group at Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City. Within two years each man in her group passed away from AIDS complications. One of these men was Vito Russo, an AIDS activist and historian. This is the story of eight gay men living with advanced AIDS and one inexperienced fresh out of training psychoanalyst. Each man's intimate story is peppered with Dr. Rosiello's anxiety and her growing awareness regarding the importance of emotional authenticity in psychotherapy. The group members had no spare moments for Dr. Rosiello to use her newly learned psychoanalytic techniques. There was only time to be real. Early on these group members pledged to not die. They pledged emotional support for the life of the group. This pledge held true for over a year. Blood brothers in their fight to live.