Warrior Princess

November 9, 2009
Princess is her name, not her title. Yet Zulu brings almost regal strength, hope, and a sense of responsibility to this memoir. Born in Kabwe, Zambia, Zulu had little more than a ninth-grade education, learning more on Africa’s diverse streets. She tells of the toll AIDS took on her life, ripping away her parents before it came for her. With astounding perspective, Zulu happily claims her HIV-positive diagnosis as God’s mission. Against custom and her husband’s wishes, Zulu speaks out about her status, risking divorce and excommunication. She bears Zambia’s burden by educating her countrymen about the disease, a journey that takes her from truck drivers on African roads all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House. In this book, she puts faces on the population of HIV-positive Africans. “Death is so much more common in Africa, but does it hurt less?”: Zulu demands respect for people with HIV and asks the world to be aware of Africa’s needs. Openly and tirelessly, she turns AIDS into an injury to the global body that readers won’t be able to ignore.