Hi History Makers, Eric here. A few months ago we launched Making Gay History's Patreon

channel, a place where we're sharing new video interviews never before heard clips from

my archive that didn't make it into the episodes and more. If you're not a member of our Patreon

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And thank you so much.

I'm Eric Marcus. 40 years ago, news first broke into the mainstream of a deadly new disease.

I was coming of age and coming out in New York City during the first years of the AIDS

crisis. Friends and neighbors fell ill and died. Our community was changed forever. This

is an audio memoir of that time. It's a record of my experiences between 1981 and 1988,

and a journey to connect with some of the people who went through it with me.

By the start of 1983, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 1,221 people had been

diagnosed with AIDS in the United States. 748 had died. Many thousands more had symptoms

that would prove to be the early stages of the disease. At the start of 1983, I was lonely.

I was single and I didn't want to be. I didn't feel a connection to any of New York City's

gay communities, and I hadn't yet found a professional community. I didn't belong,

but I longed to. This is chapter 2, not alone.

It was my first time at the circus, April 30, 1983, Madison Square Garden. I'm 24 years old,

and I am not on a date. Barry is not my date yet. We haven't fallen in love yet, but we

are at the circus together. We're at the very first big AIDS fundraiser in New York. A few

...