About Me

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I am an HIV+ writer, educator, and mother. I write about love, nature, courage, and HIV.

I’ve been living with HIV for 40 years. In 1991, a year after my unexpected diagnosis, I founded WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases) in my Oakland apartment, which provided a platform for hundreds of HIV+ women (and their allies) to share information, advocate for one another, and tell their stories. 

A lot of people helped me start WORLD, including my husband, Daniel, who has been with me for 37 years and remains HIV-free. Our twins, Sophia and Sarah, were born in 1996, healthy and HIV-free. Today, they are 26 and thriving. The journey to bring them into the world was a long and complex one that I sometimes share, so that others might feel less alone. 

I grew up in rural Oregon and now live in Berkeley, California. I’ve had many jobs — teacher, journalist, dishwasher, paralegal, non-profit director, small business owner, and more — but the one I’ve enjoyed most is being a mom. 

— Rebecca Denison