A Name on the Quilt - Jeannine Atkinsby Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger 26 Oct 2006 03:40 PM
What the story portion of the book doesn't say outright is that Uncle Ron was homosexual, and had died of AIDS. The character Michael in the book was his lover, and the quilt they are making is to be added to the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The way the author approached this book was intriguing to me. Ron's life was honored without any condemnation or judgment. There was one brief hint that Ron's father disagreed with Ron's lifestyle, but that was just a mention and was not emphasized in the book. Ron's homosexuality was alluded to, rather than stated outright, and the focus of the book was on Ron as a person, Ron as a friend, an uncle, a brother. The memory of Ron was allowed to be the star of the story. So much of the time when we hear about AIDS, we hear about homosexuality, drug use, etc. and we have them so linked in our minds that it nearly always stirs up controversy. Everyone has their beliefs and their stance on AIDS and sometimes we lose sight of the fact that these are people we're talking about, not statistics, not just patients. This book did a beautiful job of putting the debate to rest and simply remembering Ron. The theme of quilting is carried throughout the book with stitches that frame in each page. The first page only has a few stitches and by the time you get to the end of the book, the page is fully stitched. This was a beautiful way to put across the theme. In the back of the book are pictures of the AIDA quilt, and a portion of the sales from each book go toward The Names Project Foundation. (This book was published in 1999 by Atheneum and was illustrated by Tad Hill.) Related Blogs: Learn more about Tristi Pinkston  I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006. Relevantmedia tags User Comments  Megan Bayliss (3586) 27 Oct 2006 12:33 AMFANTASTIC blog. I'm going out to buy the book. Thank you Tristi. Wonderful review.  Tristi Pinkston (10839) 30 Oct 2006 10:36 AMHmmm -- wonder if the author will give me a kickback? Kidding, kidding! Community Tags AIDS, dying, HIV, homosexuality, memorial Discuss this article
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Laura and her family have gathered together to make a special quilt to remember her Uncle Ron, who has died. Some of Ron's friends came over and they are helping, too. As they stitch, they share memories of the fun things that Ron used to do with them. He took Laura ice skating, they went to the lake, they played Scrabble, and they loved to dance in Ron's living room. By the time the quilt is finished, everyone has contributed their thoughts about Ron and how he will be missed. 
