A powerful, moving and tragic account of the families shattered and children abandoned as a result of the spread of HIV and, through the Memory Books project, a hope for the future.

Henning Mankell is not a public figure in the way that politicians are, nor does he court publicity for himself, but he is one of the most successful authors of our time and has devoted his recent years to work with Aids charities. In I Die, But The Memory Lives On, this master storyteller has written a fable to illustrate the importance of books as a means of education, of preserving memories and of sharing life. In a very personal account he tells of his own fears and anxieties for the sufferers of HIV and AIDS and, drawing on his experiences in many parts of Africa of the journeys that he has made to remote villages and the impressions he has gained there, proposes a way to help. The problem of AIDS has been kept largely under control in Europe, but in Africa it is a very different story. Lack of education about the disease and lack of money to buy life-prolonging drugs for existing sufferers have turned the problem into a plague of biblical proportions. As parents die at a young age, infant orphans are left behind. The cycle continues, seemingly in perpetuity. Memory Books is a project through which the HIV-infected parents of today are encouraged to write portraits of their lives and testaments of their love for their orphans of tomorrow. Through a combination of words and drawings they can leave a legacy, a hope that future generations may not suffer the same heartbreaking fate. The publication of this book will raise awareness of this international problem which, though it may not always be on the front pages of our newspapers, must be always on our minds until something has truly changed for the better.