Sleeping with the Angels

Welcome to my blog. 

First I would like to share one of my favorite poems that I have written.

                                                              “The AIDS Prayer”

A little history about this poem: I wrote this poem on July 24, 1995 at around 3:00 A.M. I woke up and all these words were just going through my head; so I put them on paper the next morning when I looked over my notes I realized I had written a very powerful poem. This poem has been published in the 1998 edition of the Tetrahedra Nashville Tech Literary Journal and on writing.com. It is a positive message for people infected or affected by HIV and AIDS and is dedicated to my daughter Deondra.

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                                                “The AIDS Prayer”

            AIDS! What is it? Where did it come from? Only God knows the true answer.

Each day I pray for:

            God to give me the strength to make it through any obstacle that might be in my way.

            Give me understanding of other’s needs; and not be selfish of my own.

Give me peace of mind so that I am not afraid; not afraid of facing the sickness; not afraid of dying.

But, peace of soul to be ready to go when God calls my name

And most of all, give me love to share all around

Giving encouragement to everyone I meet.

And to this world that holds so much anger and ignorance, I say to you:

AIDS is a disease, not a lifestyle. You cannot get it from a hug or a handshake.

So go out and give a hug or a handshake to someone you know. Chances are they need it.

© 1995 By JIS (HIV+ since 1987)

I would also like to introduce a new and inspiring book written by me, Jessie I Snyder. It is titled “Sleeping with the Angels" This is an autobiography about a young women’s fight of living with HIV; as she has overcome tremendous tragedies and adversities in her fight with this devastating disease. She has shown incredible strength throughout her life as she has fought for her life. Jessie is an inspiration to many, as she shows impeccable courage fighting the disease of AIDS.


This book is unique, in it you will find amazing stories of courage and strength; crime and devastation; tragedies and death, that she had to overcome and the joy of life after the survival of those trials and tribulations. What better person is there to write this book than someone who has experienced these different situations firsthand? While there are several books written on overcoming tragedies. I feel this book will give courage, strength and motivation to a variety of readers. This book covers a lot of different struggles that others may relate to, giving her the cutting edge because it is not confined to just one type of tragedy. Not only does she tell about the tragedies and adversities that she has endured; but she also discusses how she overcame them. This book will give the reader inspiration, motivation, and hope of a better tomorrow.


From the time she was seven when she saw her stepfather murdered during a home invasion, she knew she had a story to tell. Little did she know she was going to face many more tragedies and adversities throughout her life. Yet throughout all those tragedies and adversities she has become a stronger individual, giving encouragement to others. But the incident that defined her life was when she was fourteen and contracted HIV. She was told by the doctors that she wouldn’t live to see her 18th birthday, however, here she is twenty plus years later, healthy, happy and full of life.


She has been able to share her stories while giving others inspiration, motivation and hope of a better life ahead. I feel that this book is a must have to add to any collection. Jessie has poured my heart and soul into every page and knows that given the chance it will warm the heart of any reader, especially those who have faced any kind of tragedy or has been infected or affected with HIV.


Jessie has been living with HIV since she was fourteen. It all started during her pregnancy with her daughter when she was in an accident that required her to have surgery. During her surgery she lost too much blood and was given a blood transfusion. At six months pregnant she found out that one of the pints of blood she was given was contaminated with the HIV virus. She has suffered many bouts of illness and close calls with death. She is now 38, and living a healthy, happy life. She has been able to maintain a somewhat normal life and decided to write this book so that it may inspire others and let them know that AIDS are not a death sentence, that there is life after an AIDS diagnosis.


Excerpt from the book:


By this time my mother had to stop working to take care of me full time. Eventually, we were evicted from our house.  When I was in my seventh month of pregnancy we became homeless again, around this same time my boyfriend Robert (the baby’s daddy) had left to go on a job in Kentucky. He was supposed to be gone for two weeks, but I never saw him again. He was killed in a car accident on his way back to Nashville. Now I was going to be a single mother. However, I still kept my faith in God and knew as long as I believed in him everything was going to be ok. We lived on the streets right up until the morning I went into labor.  One of our neighbor’s had let us stay in their garage. That’s where the ambulance came to pick me up. At around 6:00 a.m. on November 21^st I was taken to the hospital and went through 58 hours of labor, but finally my daughter was born at 4:20 p.m., on November 23, 1987, she weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and I named her Deondra Mae Snyder.  She had black curly hair and the most beautiful hazel eyes...

If you want the rest of the story you will have wait until my book is published and then buy my book.