Adult Children of AIDS Victims Take Their Memories Out of the Shadows

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On a Thursday night in January, the atmosphere at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in SoHo was heavy with nostalgia. More than 100 people mingled, drank wine and swayed in place to hits of the ’70s and ’80s, featuring songs by Lou Reed, David Bowie, Elton John and the B-52’s.

Old family photographs were projected onto a big screen: images of parents hugging their children close, or teaching them to ride a bike.

Seventeen of those children were in attendance, grown now, and united by a common truth: The parents in the pictures are gone, all of them lost to AIDS. The playlist was a tribute to them, a mix of their favorite songs, as selected by the sons and daughters who traveled from as far away as Toronto, St. Louis and Los Angeles to be there.