Reuters announced on Monday that the British singer is determined to intensify his campaign against AIDS. Elton John will publish a book about his life during the AIDS epidemic. The singer will also mention one of his best friends, Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991.
John witnessed many cases of AIDS-related illnesses throughout his life. As a matter of fact, the British singer saw many of his friends perish because of the dreadful disease. Around 20 years ago, he founded the “Elton John AIDS Foundation” which raises funds to help fight the disease. This year, the musician plans to publish a book entitled “LOVE IS THE CURE: Ending the Global AIDS Epidemic” hoping that it will increase awareness about the disease.
The second reason why the “Rocket Man” interpreter chose to write his personal story about AIDS is because he wants people to understand what an AIDS patient is going through. For that, he will speak about Freddy Mercury and Ryan White, the American boy who became an iconic figure for most health campaigns after being banned by a school because of his condition. Elton John stood by White’s side when he died in 1990 at the age of 18 in a U.S. hospital.
John told the press, that he decided to write this book because people need to understand that AIDS cannot be cured “by a miraculous vaccine”, but by changing mentalities. He further stated that people need to gather their forces to break down social barriers and to replace them with “bridges of compassion”, instead. This is the only way to defeat the global AIDS epidemic.
The musician invites everyone to bring their contribution to the cause. He finished his public statement by asking people “Why are we not doing more?” John’s initiative is welcome because the recent statistics show that the number of people infected with HIV has grown during the past decade. In 2001, there were 28.6 million people living with AIDS, whereas in 2010 their number grew up to 34 million.
The book will be published by Hodder & Stoughton in collaboration with U.S. sister company Little, Brown and Company. All the money will be donated to charity, so be prepared to purchase the book as soon as it comes out in July 2012.
