Hard Words is an existential read, which challenges the idea that Africans are collectivists first and people after. It brings the reader a new framework for understanding HIV / AIDS from an experiential perspective and is one of the few books that, instead of looking at the urgency of communicating the facts about HIV / AIDS, challenges the idea that there is a deficit of communication. It rather suggests a dialogue about the communication itself and how to improve that by looking deeper into the issues of experience, of being human, of dignity, respect and recognition.