DANCING with HIV

About the Book

What if your illness became the vessel that freed your soul?

Dancing with HIV is a powerful HIV memoir and poetic testament from Tony “T-Soul” Hughes, a young, gay Black man raised in Altgeld Gardens, Chicago, who navigates the deeply personal and societal trials of living with HIV. This poignant collection merges poetic expression and intimate journal entries to chronicle 16 years of emotional reckoning, self-discovery, and spiritual growth.

In the midst of physical chaos and uncertainty, Tony invites us into his inner world—a place of swirling thoughts, raw vulnerability, and unrelenting hope. With lyrical grace, he transforms fear into faith, stigma into strength, and diagnosis into dance. Each poem becomes a mirror that reflects love, loss, God, ancestry, family, and the burden of truth. Each journal entry captures the emotional complexity of survival while searching for peace, purpose, and spiritual healing.

T-Soul’s words resonate with readers who are seeking real stories of resilience, queer poetry that confronts silence, and LGBTQ+ Black voices that refuse invisibility. His writing honors unfulfilled dreams, celebrates family bonds, and ultimately crowns his life’s journey in authenticity.

For those impacted by HIV, moved by queer Black narratives, or seeking spiritual restoration through storytelling, Dancing with HIV is more than a memoir. It is a sacred offering.

Step into Tony’s light. Let his words carry you. Begin the journey today.

About the Author

Tony “T-Soul” Hughes was raised on the south side of Chicago IL in Altgeld Gardens, by a single Mother with his two siblings. Tony loved to write, animals, and too dance to House Music. He started his collegiate studies at Chicago State University in Biology. He would often bless family and friends with poems and short stories. In 1990 at the age of 23 He was diagnosed with HIV. He would write in his journal about his journey with HIV for 16 years. Tony transitioned in 2010 from complications due to HIV at the age of 40. His ashes were released in Monroe, Louisiana. The power of eleven and T-SouL He was the eleventh Grandchild Born the eleventh month Born the eleventh hour Insurance was purchased at eleven years old During a spiritual experience was given eleven cent from a male child Transcended this world the eleventh day During his ashes release family member found eleven cents near his final resting place Billie Holiday Hughes was raised on the south side of Chicago IL in Altgeld Gardens, by a single Mother with her two brothers. Billie Holiday was given the name by her older brother Tony. She started her collegiate studies at College of Dupage in FIlm/TV. She started her career in TV in 2016 in the Locations Department. Billie never gave up on her brother Tony’s dream, to be a published author. Now her dream is to live out his Dream. 15 years in the making DANCING WITH HIV.