A Hard Silence
One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith When HIV/AIDS Changes It All
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Melanie Brooks
-
By:
-
Melanie Brooks
About this listen
In the mid 1980s, Canada's worst public health disaster was unfolding. Catastrophic mismanagement of the country's blood supply allowed contaminated blood to be knowingly distributed, infecting close to two thousand Canadians with HIV. Among them was Melanie Brooks's surgeon father who, after receiving a blood transfusion during open-heart surgery in 1985, learned he was HIV positive.
At a time when HIV/AIDS was misunderstood and public perception was shaped by fear, prejudice, and homophobia, victims of the disease faced ostracism and persecution. Wanting to protect his family from this stigma, Melanie's father decided his illness would be a secret they'd all keep. They did not know that her father would live past that first year, but he did. And for ten years before his death in 1995, from the time she was thirteen until she was twenty-three, Melanie's family lived in the shadow of AIDS. She carried the weight of the uncertain trajectory of her father's health and the heartbreaking anticipation of impending loss silently and alone. It became a way of life.
A Hard Silence is an intimate glimpse into Melanie's memories of coping with the tragedy of her father's illness and enduring the loneliness and isolation of not being able to speak. With candor and vulnerability, she opens her grief wounds and brings her reader inside her journey, twenty years after her father died, to finally understand the consequences of her family's silence, to interrogate the roots of stigma and discrimination responsible for the ongoing secret-keeping, and to show how she's now learned to be authentic.
©2023 Vine Leaves Press (P)2024 Melanie BrooksCritic reviews
"Melanie Brooks is that rare writer who can delve as deeply into the world of ideas as she can the pitted terrain of the human heart." Andre Dubus III, author of Such Kindness and Townie
"Quite simply, unforgettable." Monica Wood, author of When We Were the Kennedys
Related to this topic
-
Take Control of Your Life
- How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game
- By: Mel Robbins
- Narrated by: Mel Robbins
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mel Robbins is back! The international bestselling phenomenon and creator of The Five Second Rule and Kick Ass with Mel Robbins returns to help you tackle the single biggest obstacle you face: fear. This life-changing Audible Original features a powerful mix of one-on-one life-coaching sessions and a personal narrative with vital take-aways that you can start using immediately.
-
-
Stop living in fear
- By Nike7 on 02-08-19
By: Mel Robbins
-
Hack your Body, Heal your Mind
- By: BBC Studios
- Narrated by: Kimberley Wilson
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever noticed that when you do something positive to your body, your mood lifts too? Our minds and bodies are more connected than you could ever imagine and the latest science is proving just that. In this podcast, Psychologist Kimberley Wilson explores a range of activities that can help to boost your focus, energy and overall mental wellbeing. And she’ll reveal her easy take-home tips and tricks that you can add to your daily routine to help you get started right away - whether you want to reboot with a nap, take a cold water splash, or reap the benefits of a burst of morning sun.
-
-
buenos tips
- By juankarlos! on 02-02-25
By: BBC Studios
-
The Obesity Code
- Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
- By: Dr. Jason Fung
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this highly listenable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps - a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels - Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight - for good.
-
-
There is a PDF, Folks
- By Cynthia on 06-27-17
By: Dr. Jason Fung
-
Self Help
- This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you ready to unlock the greatest resource of your life? Gabby Bernstein has written the ultimate self-help guide, offering a revolutionary practice to radically shift your core beliefs and connect you to an infallible inner guidance system: the energy of Self within you. In this groundbreaking book, Gabby demystifies the power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, taking its life-changing teachings out of the therapist’s office and into your everyday life.
-
-
Self Serving
- By pricefreund on 01-14-25
By: Gabrielle Bernstein, and others
-
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
- A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
- By: Lori Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
-
-
It was like a hallmark movie being waterboarded into my ears for 15 hours
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-19
By: Lori Gottlieb
-
The Secret to Healing Anxiety
- By: Kelly Vincent, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Kelly Vincent
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover a holistic approach to mental health with The Secret to Healing Anxiety. In six compassionate and accessible lessons, clinical psychologist Dr. Kelly Vincent will teach you perspectives and strategies that can help you develop physical, emotional, and spiritual resilience.
-
-
Excellent information
- By sparky on 01-30-25
By: Kelly Vincent, and others
-
Take Control of Your Life
- How to Silence Fear and Win the Mental Game
- By: Mel Robbins
- Narrated by: Mel Robbins
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mel Robbins is back! The international bestselling phenomenon and creator of The Five Second Rule and Kick Ass with Mel Robbins returns to help you tackle the single biggest obstacle you face: fear. This life-changing Audible Original features a powerful mix of one-on-one life-coaching sessions and a personal narrative with vital take-aways that you can start using immediately.
-
-
Stop living in fear
- By Nike7 on 02-08-19
By: Mel Robbins
-
Hack your Body, Heal your Mind
- By: BBC Studios
- Narrated by: Kimberley Wilson
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have you ever noticed that when you do something positive to your body, your mood lifts too? Our minds and bodies are more connected than you could ever imagine and the latest science is proving just that. In this podcast, Psychologist Kimberley Wilson explores a range of activities that can help to boost your focus, energy and overall mental wellbeing. And she’ll reveal her easy take-home tips and tricks that you can add to your daily routine to help you get started right away - whether you want to reboot with a nap, take a cold water splash, or reap the benefits of a burst of morning sun.
-
-
buenos tips
- By juankarlos! on 02-02-25
By: BBC Studios
-
The Obesity Code
- Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss
- By: Dr. Jason Fung
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this highly listenable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps - a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels - Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight - for good.
-
-
There is a PDF, Folks
- By Cynthia on 06-27-17
By: Dr. Jason Fung
-
Self Help
- This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you ready to unlock the greatest resource of your life? Gabby Bernstein has written the ultimate self-help guide, offering a revolutionary practice to radically shift your core beliefs and connect you to an infallible inner guidance system: the energy of Self within you. In this groundbreaking book, Gabby demystifies the power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, taking its life-changing teachings out of the therapist’s office and into your everyday life.
-
-
Self Serving
- By pricefreund on 01-14-25
By: Gabrielle Bernstein, and others
-
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
- A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
- By: Lori Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
-
-
It was like a hallmark movie being waterboarded into my ears for 15 hours
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-19
By: Lori Gottlieb
-
The Secret to Healing Anxiety
- By: Kelly Vincent, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Kelly Vincent
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover a holistic approach to mental health with The Secret to Healing Anxiety. In six compassionate and accessible lessons, clinical psychologist Dr. Kelly Vincent will teach you perspectives and strategies that can help you develop physical, emotional, and spiritual resilience.
-
-
Excellent information
- By sparky on 01-30-25
By: Kelly Vincent, and others
-
How to Train Your Mind
- Exploring the Productivity Benefits of Meditation
- By: Chris Bailey
- Narrated by: Chris Bailey
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meditation makes you more productive because it lets you earn back time. For each minute you spend meditating, you'll earn around nine minutes back, as Chris Bailey - author of The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus - will show in this candid and counter-intuitive guide to the productivity benefits of meditation.
-
-
Started Listening By Accident
- By T.D.Willis on 01-17-21
By: Chris Bailey
-
Brain Energy
- A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health—and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More
- By: Christopher M. Palmer MD
- Narrated by: Christopher M. Palmer MD
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are in the midst of a global mental health crisis, and mental illnesses are on the rise. But what causes mental illness? And why are mental health problems so hard to treat? Drawing on decades of research, Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Chris Palmer outlines a revolutionary new understanding that for the first time unites our existing knowledge about mental illness within a single framework: mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain. Brain Energy will transform the field of mental health, and the lives of countless people around the world.
-
-
Arguing brain health theory to medical profession
- By Maya H Saric on 03-10-23
-
Happy Days
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if you could wake up every day without anxiety? View your past with purpose, not regret? Live happy, peaceful, and free from fear? You can - and Gabrielle Bernstein will show you the way. Gabby has long been loved by her listeners as a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and catalyst for profound inner change. Her new book presents her most powerful teaching yet: a plan for transforming the pain of your past, whatever that may be, into newfound strength and freedom.
-
-
Healing is privileged
- By Tina Clayton on 02-26-22
-
The Complete Guide to Fasting
- Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting
- By: Jimmy Moore, Dr. Jason Fung
- Narrated by: Jimmy Moore
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thousands of books have been written about the latest and greatest diets that will help people lose weight and improve health. But a key element in any successful nutritional health program is a tried-and-true method that most people haven't thought about - yet it could be revolutionary for taking health to the next level. This ancient secret is fasting.
-
-
Hard to get through
- By MCT on 06-03-17
By: Jimmy Moore, and others
-
Natural Rapid Weight Loss, Lose Weight Faster with Hypnosis, Meditation, and Affirmations
- The Sleep Learning System
- By: Joel Thielke
- Narrated by: Joel Thielke
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Naturally lose weight fast and get the body you've been wanting. Stop old habits in their tracks, shed pounds now, and feel amazing. Rapid weight loss is yours today with this powerful guided meditation program from the Sleep Learning System and world-renowned hypnotherapist Joel Thielke.
-
-
My new favorite hypnosis audio!
- By Penny on 04-03-16
By: Joel Thielke
-
Lies My Doctor Told Me
- Medical Myths That Can Harm Your Health
- By: Dr. Ken Berry
- Narrated by: Geoff Sugiyama
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This updated and expanded edition of Dr. Berry’s best seller Lies My Doctor Told Me exposes the truth behind all kinds of “lies” told by well-meaning but misinformed medical practitioners. Nutritional therapy is often overlooked in medical school, and the information provided to physicians is often outdated. However, the negative consequences on your health remain the same. Advice to avoid healthy fats and stay out of the sun has been proven to be detrimental to longevity and can wreak havoc on your system.
-
-
Weak Narrator
- By Josh Cecil on 10-10-19
By: Dr. Ken Berry
What listeners say about A Hard Silence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michelle Oakley
- 07-03-24
The continuity of the story, the honesty and descriptive nature that really brought you into the narrative.
Thank you for sharing your heart and your story Melanie. I’m so sorry you and your family had to go through all this by yourselves, but so glad for all the people you will now reach and help with your story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amy
- 08-11-24
On the Edge of this Family Secret
I grew up in the 70s-80s and remember feeling worried and empathetic about the AIDS epidemic. However, it also felt far from me.
*It was in this author’s house and kept secret!*
I cannot imagine. And then the church’s response…
I 💗 memoirs and this one kept me on the edge of my seat with its well-crafted movement and language through this unfortunately true family story!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!