Grit and Grace: Navigating Body Image (as a Metaphorical Image of a Nation) and Authenticity in Writing

The Bigger Conversation: Corporeal Solitude and Creative Integrity

At a recent retreat, photos of me were unflattering. It's not the photographers' fault, but angles and light, as my theater-model friend says, are crucial and non-photographers probably haven’t conquered all that. So…

Here's a photo I took for this essay, sunlit by a mountain sunset. It reflects how I see myself—embracing aging, wrinkles, and all.

For my …