My Unexpected Life: An International Memoir of Two Pandemics, HIV, and COVID-19 (Unabridged‪)‬

At age 28, the doctors told Martina Clark she had HIV and five years to live. With a sense of nothing to lose, she dove into activism. Then, she fell into an international career, starting as the first openly HIV-positive person to work for UNAIDS in 1996.

A mix of personal memoir, travel, humor and an up-close look at the squishy underbelly of the United Nations, My Unexpected Life follows her personal journey—emotional and physical—interwoven with her professional path. From diagnosis to starting treatment, surviving an abusive marriage and fostering a teenage daughter, Martina’s memoir adds an insider’s view to the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly as pertains to women.

Throughout, she draws parallels to other pandemics--–including her own long-haul bout with COVID–reflecting on her experiences as she journeys through life with an incurable illness, a well-stamped passport, and a stubborn determination that keeps her alive to bear witness to the human condition.