Christine Maggiore, author of "What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong?" and founder of Alive and Well AIDS Alternatives passed away suddenly on December 27th, 2008. I loved her dearly as a friend who shared a similar mission to reveal the truth to all those who were ready to hear it. I had her on my radio show a number of times over the years to stay current with those who had the courage to recognize the reality of immune deficiency and the fact that it was not caused by a retrovirus called HIV or any other name.
Her voice was one of clarity, passion and sanity amidst a pharmaceutical industrial complex gone mad. I am ever so grateful to know her and call her a friend. Over Labor Day weekend 2008, I had the great fortune to share a meal with Christine, her husband Robin and son Charlie, Clark Baker and others friendly to the cause of truth.
Christine truly had a golden heart. Despite all of the vicious attacks on her and her family by AIDS establishment minions, her heart remained filled with the love of family and friends.
Christine, you will be missed, but all that you have done is not in vain. The awareness is growing in great part because of your courage and tenacity in the face of such opposition and fear. Please click the following link if you would like to hear her last appearance on my radio show, a "bonus" podcast that is even more relevant today:
Following is the letter sent out by her husband Robin Scovill:
Dear Friends,
It is with deep sorrow that I tell you my wife, Christine Maggiore died unexpectedly on December 27th. She leaves behind our son, Charlie and the memory of our daughter, Eliza Jane.
Christine was a beacon of hope for many people whose lives, like her own, had been turned upside down by an HIV positive diagnosis. When she received this devastating label in 1992, Christine—in spite of predictions that she had five years to live—did not give up, but devoted her life to helping others. For several years she was a public speaker for AIDS Project Los Angeles, LA Shanti Foundation and was a founding board member of Women At Risk. It was in the process of trying to find a doctor that she felt comfortable dying with that Christine starting getting conflicting information from AIDS experts, particularly troubling in the search to save her own life. One doctor in particular suggested that Christine retest and she finally did, testing HIV negative, positive and indeterminate over a dozen times in subsequent months. She was shocked. Christine took her questions and confusion to the very AIDS organizations that she was helping to build and their unanimous dismissal of her inquiries forced Christine to look outward. This series of events profoundly shook her faith in mainstream AIDS beliefs and sent her down a rabbit hole of exploration that would challenge everything that she had been lead to believe.
Over the subsequent years, Christine’s research put her in touch with people all over the world whose work and commitment to open dialog and debate caused her to rethink everything she had been taught to teach others about HIV and AIDS. Most importantly, it led her to question the absolute assertion that an HIV positive diagnosis meant she had to die.
In 1995, Christine set out to assemble a three-fold brochure outlining a series of facts that had been most compelling in her search for truth. That brochure turned into the first incarnation of her seminal book, What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong? It took Christine years to unearth the many studies, writings and facts that began to alleviate the shame and terror of her HIV diagnosis. Her desire was to create something concise and informative and empowering that she could give to others who had received a similar diagnosis and who were ashamed and terrified and alone.
Christine’s book—now in it’s 4th edition— has been translated into seven languages; her monumental work with her non-profit organization, Alive and Well AIDS Alternatives, has redefined what we think about AIDS; and her tireless communications, writings and pod casts have touched thousands of lives around the world and continue to provide a beacon of hope for anyone who lives in fear of AIDS.
In spite of Christine’s strength, she was also under tremendous pressure and scrutiny. She often felt that she wasn’t allowed to get sick like other people. After her daughter died in 2005 of an allergic reaction to an antibiotic for an ear infection, the LA County Coroner—ignoring evidence to the contrary—declared it a death from AIDS and Christine’s suffering increased horribly. She was vilified in the world media and harassed by outspoken opponents of her work who openly gloated that this was her just comeuppance. She and her family endured a yearlong criminal investigation that not only terrorized them, but also robbed them of an opportunity to mourn the loss of their daughter. That loss was twisted into sensationalized and mean spirited television episodes that portrayed Christine as a quack and a murderer and ultimately as dead. Christine never fully recovered from the unjust treatment that she received around the loss of Eliza Jane and that treatment ultimately exhausted her.
A week and a half ago, Christine was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and did not conjure the strength to overcome it. She died unexpectedly in her home with her husband and a dear friend. Christine Maggiore’s death is a shock and devastating blow to her family and to the thousands of people around the world who loved and respected her.
For anyone who lives in fear of an HIV or AIDS diagnosis, Christine’s legacy will live on. She was committed to sharing vital facts and essential dialog that would give HIV positive people everywhere the chance to consider a destiny that differs from the one of death and despair that they are taught to expect. For that she was loved.
Christine will be deeply missed.
A memorial will be planned within the next couple of weeks but please join us at our home tonight (Tuesday Dec. 30) for an informal gathering of friends and family. Please bring your musical instruments.
We are gathering from 1pm today well into the night.
Our address is:
5806 Tobias Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91411
818.780.0753
There is a blog thread started by Celia Farber called What Killed Christine Maggiore? over at Dean's World with more information related to the passing of Christine Maggiore.
There is also a follow up titled In Her Own Words, a Dec 19 Email From Christine Maggiore in response to the soulless (and completely unfounded) claims by HIV apologists as to the cause of death.
Although we mourn our loss of Christine here on planet earth, I am consoled by the fact that Christine has been reunited with her daughter EJ in a better place.
May the blessings be.
Stumble It!
