Meet Shelton
Shelton’s story is a little different than most. He met and fell in love with his first partner the second time he ever went to the village in New York City in June 1996. By August of that year they were living “happily ever after.” Two years into their relationship his partner tested positive for HIV and in Shelton’s young and naive mind, he made the decision to keep having unprotected sex with his partner. That was his ultimate expression of true love. Three months later he too tested HIV positive and thought that love would conquer all and they could still have “happily ever after” as long as they took care of each other. That worked for four years until Shelton’s partner died in his arms after he was removed from the life support machines that were keeping him alive. “Happily ever after” died on June 25, 2003 and he was alone. “Love also died that day for me. It did not conquer AIDS and I was completely lost and confused,” says Shelton. After that experience, life dragged on but with the help of his therapist and some real friends he came to the realization that he had a lot to live for. His journal offered a glimpse at exactly what a person goes through after becoming HIV positive. His journal also detailed how he put his life back together after his partner passed away and how he used that life-altering event to make him stronger. In May of 2005, Shelton released his book, The Second Chapter: Acceptance. “It was the physical representation of my life in a form that I hoped others could learn from. It was also a symbol of my being able to complete a long-term goal. It was six years in the making and I had finally finished it. It also represented my metamorphosis into adulthood. With a newfound strength, I set out to bring my story to the world starting with Baltimore,” shares Shelton. Since the book was released, Shelton has helped people at all different stages of HIV and AIDS. He has discovered that by helping others he has helped himself. Shelton has also just released his second book of poetry entitled, The Dawn of a New Day. It chronicles his first year in Baltimore trying to cope with being alone for the first time in his life, dating in a new city, adhering to medication and disclosing his HIV status to sexual partners. SSJ Publishing, Inc., Shelton's own publishing company gives people real life examples of how any obstacle in life can be overcome through acceptance of one’s truth and the determination to not just survive--but to live.
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