Mothers' Suffering: Sons who Died of AIDS

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Abstract
The discourse on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is dominated by the rational-technical language of science and biomedicine. Lost in the rigid authoritarianism of science are the voices of those who suffer with HIV and AIDS. Mothers whose sons die of AIDS are caught in this web of suffering. This article privileges the voices of these women. Three narratives of suffering are explored in detail. Narrative analysis reveals that macro- and microforces are intimately interwoven in the suffering experience. The narratives provided by these women and this study of them advance the theoretical understanding of human suffering, a concept largely ignored within the discipline of nursing. Finally, the study demonstrates that nurse-researchers and the discipline of nursing must attend to human suffering by becoming engaged in the life-worlds of patients.

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