My sister took this photo of our mom and me in May 1998, in Asheville, after our granny (our mom’s mom) died. When I was younger, all I could see in it was how deeply I resembled my mom in ways I didn’t want to face. Like her, I desperately wanted to control images of myself, to see only those that flattered my own sense of what I wanted to look like and who I wanted to be. Now I think this is probably the single most telling photo of me that anyone has ever taken. It’s beautiful to me and painful to me in equal measure, just as my relationship with my mom is. And now that I’m older I can imagine my granny looking on this scene with many tender conflicting feelings too.
Your photograph and essay resonated with me because my sister sent me the 1971 church directory portrait of my family and I saw in a new way (both beautiful and painful) how much she had made me into a mini-me. "In equal measure" or both sides of the butter knife, as my mom would say. THANK YOU for this beautiful portrait of how two opposite things can be real and true.
“Beautiful and painful in equal measure” is a good way of describing the family legacies that we all carry in our bodies. I appreciate your work (and invitation) toward engaging with all of it. And I hope you feel better soon!
“understanding how these harms and others like them reverberate across the world when they go unacknowledged and unaddressed” is why we do it. I haven’t been able to convince the rest of my family, but I hope my doing it will help. It feels like it does.
Am I reading this wrong? You support the return of the hostages, and you support the terrorist attack? Or do you support the return of hostages taken by Hamas during the terrorist attack?
What a beautiful photograph. My compliments to the photographer. I noted the folded arms but you are fantastically beautiful.
This was a powerful piece. Thank you for writing it !
Your photograph and essay resonated with me because my sister sent me the 1971 church directory portrait of my family and I saw in a new way (both beautiful and painful) how much she had made me into a mini-me. "In equal measure" or both sides of the butter knife, as my mom would say. THANK YOU for this beautiful portrait of how two opposite things can be real and true.
Fortifying as always.
Hope you’re on the mend ❤️🩹 Maud. Thank you for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Beautiful and painful in equal measure” is a good way of describing the family legacies that we all carry in our bodies. I appreciate your work (and invitation) toward engaging with all of it. And I hope you feel better soon!
Thanks for sharing. I hope you’re taking care and resting.
Phew! I figured as much, but would have hated that there be any confusion. Your soul clearly shines with love. Thank you, Anne
“understanding how these harms and others like them reverberate across the world when they go unacknowledged and unaddressed” is why we do it. I haven’t been able to convince the rest of my family, but I hope my doing it will help. It feels like it does.
Beautiful photo Maud.
Wishing you and Max better health soon.
Am I reading this wrong? You support the return of the hostages, and you support the terrorist attack? Or do you support the return of hostages taken by Hamas during the terrorist attack?