Second Chances

Susan Reynolds Whyte is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. She is the author of Questioning Misfortune: The Pragmatics of Uncertainty in Eastern Uganda, coauthor of Social Lives of Medicines, and coeditor of Disability in Local and Global Worlds.

• Polygraphy viiIntroduction. The First Generation 1Case I. Robinah and Joyce: The Connecting Sisters 251. Connections 34Case II. Saddam: Treatment Programs 472. Clientship 56Case III. Suzan: The Necessity of Travel 713. Mobility 80Case IV. MamaGirl & MamaBoy: Family Matters 954. Families 104Case V. Alice: Keeping a Good Man 1195. Partners 128Case VI. Jackie: Children without Grandparents 1436. Children 152Case VII. John: Working Contingencies 1677. Work 176Case VIII. Hassan: Soft Food and Town Life 1918. Food 200Case IX. Jolly: Appearances and Numbers 2159. Bodies 223Case X. Rachel: Buckets of Medicine 23710. Medicine 245Case XI. Dominic: A Multitude of Adversities 25911. Life 268Acknowledgments 285Bibliography 287Contributors 299Index 301

“The stories are compelling, and the analytical chapters do a good job connecting contemporary developments with the existing anthropology of HIV/AIDS…. Recommended.” - M. M. Heaton (Choice) “Second Chances is recommended reading for anyone interested in the experiences of people with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. This is also a good book for anyone who is thinking about health systems. One of Whyte’s points that I found particularly important is that people do not simply access treatment, but achieve it.” - Anita Chary (Global Health Hub) “This is a unique study because it focuses on individuals and how disease and health care affects them. It provides a glimpse at a culture that is rarely covered, as well. Academic libraries supporting social sciences and health sciences programs will want to add this fascinating look at HIV/AIDS from a singular perspective to their collections."  - Barbara Bibel (Library Journal) “Readers familiar with the work of Susan Reynolds Whyte and her colleagues will not be disappointed in this compelling book. In the end, the lesson of Second Chances is that reliance on ‘contingent sociality’ means that not everyone who needs ARTs can get them. The chance for a second chance, therefore, is inherently fragile and unequal. Reynolds Whyte and colleagues offer no solutions, but the moving stories of survival and striving for both a living and a life remind us of the work that remains” - Janet W. McGrath (Medical Anthropology Quarterly) "Second Chances is an excellent source of health narratives about negotiating HIV status in Uganda. Second Chances will naturally interest anthropologists of East Africa, HIV and biosociality." - Jason Johnson Peretz (Somatosphere) "Second Chances offers a rigorous and vivid look at the first generation of Ugandans with AIDS to have relatively wide access to antiretroviral therapy . . . . The book is a compelling chronicle of the terms of this 'life sentence'." - Tyler Zoanni (Social Anthropology)