A Journey of Hope
Neil Willenson
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Camp Heartland Project
ISBN: 0976716933

Inspiring Stories of Courage & Unconditional Love. From the young people affected by HIV at Camp Heartland in America's Midwest.

My first encounter with the American sub-culture of summer camps was during the 1960s in the state of Wisconsin, at a religious retreat near Oconomowoc. Coming from London & Chicago & a hardened city gal, I fell under the camp's spell within an hour: such a change of daily life, such an immersion in nature under the bright Sun, among enduring trees, surrounded by birds & woodland scents, on a timetable of gentle structure, doing things I'd never done before, like canoeing, archery & campfire singing, & making friends & sharing stories.

Camp Heartland is just such a magical place with an uplifting purpose & keeping its doors open year round, giving courage, fun, companionship, & name to children & young people affected by the tragic epidemic of AIDS.

Neil Willenson, inspired by Ryan White's Own Story & a camp counselor from way back, writes his story of how he became involved with children with HIV -- he saw a newspaper headline saying that a young boy who wanted to play soccer was being rejected because he had AIDS.

“I sometimes wonder where I would be and what I would be doing had I not read a newspaper headline about five-year-old Nile Sandeen. Nile was the first child I ever met with HIV and the boy who inspired the founding of Camp Heartland.
     Without Camp Heartland I would have certainly missed the pain and devastation of losing dozens of children, eulogizing a child who I loved like a brother, and experiencing moments of absolute sorrow when I knew there was nothing I could do to ease a child’s pain.
     Yes, I could have missed the pain, but I also would have missed the moments of great inspiration and joy, the moments when I knew Camp Heartland was making a tangible difference, the moments I gave love and received even more, the moments that were so perfect I wish they were frozen in time.”

A Journey of Hope contains the thoughts, poems & stories of the children: who they are; how HIV has taken their lives hostage; what their dreams & hopes are, & how they cope. It is also a photo album, beautifully recorded by Katja Heinemann, of lost friends, found feelings & the intense high of being alive, being cared for, being among fellow travelers along a dark & demanding path, & the unfettered exuberance of youth that not even a killing disease can quench, if they are in a place that supports them, & Camp Heartland is such a haven.

A Journey of Hope is an absolutely heart-opening experience, worthy of our support -- please buy the book & give of your bounty, for the joy of camp life lasts a lifetime, & some of these dear children's lives are very short.

Become involved, join up & take a virtual tour at: www.campheartland.org, & for those affected by HIV who have been displaced by this year's hurricane season, make contact -- Camp Heartland is waiting for you.
(11/20/05)

Rebecca