WHAT WE REFUSE TO LOSE
A Mother. A Daughter. AIDS.
An extraordinary story of love, survival, courage, and the lives we must never forget.
She was given six months to live. More than four decades later, she's still here.
But this is more than a story about surviving AIDS.
It's about a mother who fought to stay alive for her daughter, a daughter who grew up fearing she would lose her mother, and a love that endured through one of the darkest chapters in modern history.
Now, mother and daughter are telling their story together.
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A MOTHER'S FIGHT. A DAUGHTER'S LOVE.
In 1983, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, Sharon Lund became infected with HIV. She was a young single mother raising her daughter, Jeaneen, in Los Angeles.
Given six months to live, Sharon faced life-threatening illnesses, hospitalizations, and two near-death experiences.
Through it all, she had one powerful reason to keep fighting.
Her daughter.
During one devastating hospitalization, Sharon was so critically ill that her family was told she might not survive the weekend. Jeaneen rushed to her bedside.
Today, more than four decades later, the daughter who once feared losing her mother is directing a documentary about the woman who survived.
Their story is one of extraordinary resilience, but above all, it is a story of love.
[Photograph of Sharon and Jeaneen together]
ONE WOMAN BROKE THE SILENCE
In 1987, when fear and discrimination surrounded HIV/AIDS, Sharon made the courageous decision to go public with her diagnosis.
She became one of the early women speaking openly about living with HIV, appearing on national television, educating audiences internationally, challenging stigma, and advocating for compassion.
She also sat beside men dying from AIDS complications, offering comfort when so many others turned away.
As a teenager, Jeaneen joined her mother in AIDS education.
Sharon survived. So many others did not.
This film honors their lives, their courage, and the stories we must never forget.
[Archival photograph of Sharon and Jeaneen]
WHY THIS FILM MATTERS NOW
The AIDS epidemic did not end when the headlines faded.
Millions of people worldwide continue to live with HIV. Despite remarkable medical advances, stigma, inequality, and threats to essential prevention and treatment programs continue to put lives at risk.
Through intimate conversations, archival footage, and powerful testimony, What We Refuse to Lose connects the lessons of the past with the challenges of today.
We cannot afford to forget the past or lose the progress we've made.
A DAUGHTER TELLS THEIR STORY
Directed by Jeaneen Lund, this intimate documentary explores a mother's extraordinary survival through the eyes of the daughter who lived it alongside her.
Together, they revisit memories, confront unanswered questions, and reveal the enduring power of love.
Their story speaks to anyone who has ever loved someone and feared losing them.
HELP US BRING THIS STORY TO THE SCREEN
Some stories deserve to be told. Others have the power to change lives.
Your contribution will help us complete filming, preserve historic footage, capture important testimonies, and bring this documentary to audiences around the world.
By supporting this film, you are helping honor those lost to AIDS, amplify voices too often overlooked, and remind future generations that compassion, education, and access to care save lives.
This is more than a donation to a film. It is an investment in remembrance, understanding, and hope.
Every contribution, large or small, makes a difference.
Please help us tell this story.
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Donations are received through Sacred Living Sacred Dying, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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