"You just don't know how much you might impact someone else by telling your story."

-Maggie


We both share the belief that the right story finds the right person at the right time and that no one should journey alone. You can hear her story in her words for yourself in Season 2, Episode 4 of "The Single Greatest Choice", a podcast for single women who are considering becoming moms - and I hope you will. She shared in order to help her "breasties" and SMCs with complex medical histories navigate their choices.


SMC was a new acronym to me even though I have photographed a few Single Mothers by Choice. I love SMC as an identity because it connects both autonomy/inner knowing with community and shared wisdom. Maggie faced a complex situation: she was living with high risk factors for both breast and ovarian cancer but the very procedures that could extend her life and offer peace of mind would directly impact her fertility. She created a unique path to becoming a mother, taking one scary step at a time towards a life lived with less fear and great purpose. I am so lucky to know her and her equally badass sisters because we should know more stories of women shaping their destinies, social convention and diagnostic road blocks be damned!


And that's what she did. And then....


Enter this little guy! 💙 I loved documenting the tender way she holds and soothes him, the home made for them both, the multitude of ultrasound pictures proudly and consecutively displayed on the fridge. Someday C he will know how he came to be and how his mom trusted herself to pursue the life she was ready for, the one she knew they both deserved to live. Being parented by someone who forges their own path can only empower a child to do the same as they grow. And I just can't think of a better lived lesson or legacy to give the next generation.


Oh, welcome to the world, Baby C! Stay tuned, the story continues...

a mother holds her newborn in the background with several ultrasound pictures tacked to the fridge in the foreground
a newborn reaches towards his mothers face, she stands beneath paintings that say "be happy" and "be kind"
aerial black and white view of a mother seated and holding a newborn in her arm, he is holding her finger
mother sits cross legged with baby's feet in her lap
a mother stands in her living room, holding a pacifier in one hand, rocking her baby
a mother holds her baby and pats him on the back after feeding him, she looks off to the side
a newborn lies on a bed facing the viewer, his mother lays behind him admiring his face and holding his feet
a newborn lays sleeping on a blue changing table situated in a blue room
a mother sits in a rocker with her newborn in her arms, she is laughing and looking toward the ceiling
a mother sits in a rocker looking into her newborn's face with a soothing expression
black and white photo of a mother and newborn looking at each other smiling
a mother sits on her bed cradling her newborn with a crib in the background
a swaddled newborn looks at the camera with open eyes
a mother holds her newborn in the crook of her arm by a window and coos as he reaches towards her face
a mom lifts a newborn over her shoulder as he looks at the camera