Four months ago I stood in front of my mirror and sobbed. Shoulder bobbing, chest heaving, nose running, cried. I couldn’t stand my reflection, the girl I had let myself become. My clothes didn’t fit, I didn’t feel good, and I had spent the better part of a year convincing myself that I was happy with how I looked. That I didn’t care if I was carrying around 5 extra pounds (okay ten) because my body had done amazing things (hello, wombfruits!) and I would carry those scars with pride. Stretch marks. Sagging skin. A jiggly midsection. Big thighs. I told myself those things were beautiful. I screamed it to myself and forced myself to believe it. I threw the words “self-acceptance” and “love” at myself like a knife, over and over again until it finally hit the mark. Some days the knife-throwing didn’t work. Some days, no matter how...
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes | colie may
A year ago, almost to the minute, I was driving home from the hospital after documenting the birth of this beautiful, sweet little girl. Colie May came into the world and countless hearts grew exponentially bigger. Colie’s parents are dear friends of mine, and being invited to document them as they welcomed this precious girl into the world is a gift I’ll never be able to repay. So instead, I’ll focus my energy on documenting this sweet girl’s life as much, and as often, as I possibly can. Here are a few images from our most recent session: Happy first birthday Sweet Pea. I’m so excited to watch what this next year has in store for you. xo ...
letters to a stranger | the darkness in the hallway
“I am putting this out there because I could use some encouragement. Sorry this one is such a doozy. Tomorrow I find out what the abnormal mass in my breast is (benign or malignant). Friday I went in for a MRI guided biopsy and have been mindlessly going about my weekend trying to not think of the worst case scenarios but it so hard. The first thing on my mind is my two kids and husband. The second thing on my mind is the long list of descendents I come from that have had cancer (this includes my mother and grandmother and great grandmother, all of whom had breast cancer). Additionally my 47-year-old cousin died just two weeks ago from cancer and so I think my doomsday attitude is a result of me witnessing the sad misery that all these amazing people went through. Cancer can literally go...
letters to a stranger | the girl on the edge of forever
I recently asked people to send me their stories. That was it. That was the only requirement. I didn’t need a name or a location or an email address. I asked people to share as little or as much as they’d like either via email or through my contact form. I simply wanted to hear about you. About your lives and the lives of the people you love. The narratives I received are all breathtaking and beautiful and heartbreaking and real. People opened up to me in ways I was not expecting. I read through these stories and I laughed and I cried and at that moment something wholly changed in me. I needed to write to the people living these stories. I wanted to be a big booming voice of love and encouragement and hope and kinship and camaraderie. I used to think, “Who am I to do this...
