The visit of a renowned guest speaker will be one of the highlights of HIV Awareness Month.

Ms Marvelyn Brown is the author of The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV-positive, a hopeful story of how an “everyday girl” contracted HIV from her “Prince Charming” and how she manages to stay upbeat, inspired, and more positive about life than ever before.

The book has been described as “an inspirational memoir and a cautionary tale that every parent, guidance counsellor, and young adult should read”.

Ms Brown will speak at a public forum tomorrow (Tuesday) to be held between 5.30 and 7.30pm at the Bermuda Society of Arts in City Hall. Additional panellists will include some of Bermuda’s leading professionals in HIV/Aids patient care and a representative from STAR. On Thursday members of the public are invited to take part in ‘Not Just Another Book Club’ at the Bermuda National Library from 6pm to 8pm where there will be a discussion of the book The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV-positive followed by question and answer period with Ms Brown. The Ministry of Health, Seniors and Environment have reminded the public that free HIV testing will be available on Friday at the Hamilton Health Centre between 8.30am and 3.30pm.