My Pet Virus: The True Story of a Rebel Without a Cure

By Shawn Decker

Book Overview

Iwas destined for a life of medical drama from day one," begins this comic memoir with a mission. "I was born in the month of July, and my horoscope sign is a disease (Cancer). The symbol for Cancer? A crab (the sexually transmitted critter). Not only that, my parents named me Shawn Timothy Decker, which makes my initials S.T.D.

Shawn Decker isn't quite the All-American boy. Sure, he gets caught shoplifting copies of Penthouse; is crazy about prowrestling, especially "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair; and never has a problem getting dates. But he's also a hemophiliac who discovers, at age eleven, that he has contracted HIV from tainted blood products.

Instead of becoming self-pitying and dying (as first predicted), Shawn develops a twisted sense of humor, meets Depeche Mode through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and writes on blogs and in Poz magazine about what it's like being hetero and HIV-positive in rural Virginia. He also turns to gay men for advice on dating women and, almost twenty years after getting HIV, marries Gwenn Barringer, who is HIV-negative and a former competitor for the title of Miss Virginia. Together Shawn and Gwenn travel the country, speaking to high school and college kids about how to live and love with HIV (and how to avoid getting it).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585425257
• ISBN13: 9781585425259
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Funny, hip book about dealing with a devastating disease

This is a well-written book about living with a life-threatening disease. Decker writes with humor about the fear and adjustments he and his family go through as they come to terms with his disease. At times hilarious, often poignant, I loved it. I bought it for the people I love who are going through the same thing.

2006 Book of the Year!

I do a lot of reading, and don't always have a chance to pick up a book a second time, but I have already read and re-read My Pet Virus, and I'm hoping for a sequel. The book handles some pretty heavy subject matter with an incredible sense of humor and wit. After reading this one, you feel like you really know author Shawn Decker, and you like him.

I'm a sucker for dark humor with happy endings.

Anyone that can make light of a deadly disease floats right up to the top of my list of favorite people. "My Pet Virus" is a deceptively easy read...one which you'll skim along the text, laughing alongside him, and then realize that there's a much bigger lesson to be gleaned. Don't let the breezy style fool you. Decker imparts a hardwon wisdom that could quite possibly make you jealous that you didn't contract a killer-disease in your youth.

How to make a fun book about living with HIV/AIDS

This is a great book about one of the most well-adjusted people in the world. Shawn has taken what was a death sentence at one time and overcome low expectations to shed some good light on the world. Thank you for having the guts to be a regular kid in a world that wanted to hide you away. Your sense of humor and take on life is a great way to address HIV/AIDS and safe sex to the next generation. Keep up the good work!

Clever, poignant, hilarious

When Shawn Decker was interviewed for a cover story in POZ Magazine (which I founded) everyone in the office thought he was a natural comedian. He was a teenager in NYC for the first time, getting interrogated by a group of gay men with AIDS. We had fun asking him questions like if he ever tried marijuana. His reply? "no, because I am afraid it might lead to harder drugs, like AZT". My Pet Virus is Shawn's account of a childhood and young adulthood with HIV. If David Sedaris and Paula Poundstone had a love child, it would sound like Shawn Decker. But the book isn't just funny, it is insightful, moving and an extraordinary perspective on the AIDS epidemic through the eyes and experience of a young heterosexual man from Jerry Falwell country, in rural western Virginia.