Turning Heads: Portraits of Grace, Inspiration, And Possibilities - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0977007405 ISBN 13: 9780977007400

Publisher: Turning Heads, 2006

Synopsis

Hats and head scarves are nowhere to be seen in these portraits of women who have lost their hair during treatment for cancer. Each picture, taken by a well-known photographer, captures bald women too intent on work or play to be bashful about their looks among others, Melissa Etheridge belts out a Janis Joplin tune at the 2005 Grammys, a rodeo cowgirl poses with the cowboys, a surfer climbs a wave in Hawaii, and a nun scrutinizes her poker hand. A foreword and afterword by the author describe the genesis of the book, her own experience with cancer and hair loss, and the brave women who posed for pictures. Photo credits and profiles are provided for the photographers, who include Eddie Adams, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Reuben Cox, Rob Gauthier, Lauren Greenfield, David Hume Kennerly, Antonin Kratchovil, Harry Langdon, Gerd Ludwig, Jay Maisel, Catherine Opie, Harvey Stein, Nick Vedros, and Annie Wells.

From Independent Publishers Weekly

About this title

About the Author

Jackson Hunsicker worked for the Associated Press; was instrumental in starting up Over Easy, a PBS-CPB magazine show starring Hugh Downs; and has written and directed two children's films, The Frog Prince starring Helen Hunt and Oddball Hall with Burgess Meredith and Don Ameche. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

The spark for this collection of gorgeous and inspiring photographs of women who've become bald from chemotherapy was film and television writer Hunsicker's initial reaction to her own cancer diagnosis: the fear of becoming bald trumped her fears of mere death. The resulting book is powerful medicine, and not just for women undergoing cancer treatment. Shot by 59 leading photographers, such as Duane Michals, the book features women of all shapes, sizes, colors and nationalities, and they illustrate an important point: their subjects' distinctive talents, interests, identities and personalities. In these bold and imaginative photos, a Florida Supreme Court Justice presides over a court session, a designer lounges astride an elephant in fuchsia formal wear, a doctor's face grins from the center of a rising moon. Short statements accompanying the photographs are equally eloquent. Model/writer Sharon Fryda Blynn describes overhearing three young men making fun of her during a commuter train ride. As they exit, one of them says, "God forgive me if this woman has cancer." She tells him and witnesses his shame. "I was thinking," she writes, "just for that brief second, I pushed a button... so that... the next time they see a bald woman, they might... smile and say, 'You look beautiful today,' and make her feel better." (May)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Turning Heads
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0977007405
• ISBN 13: 9780977007400
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Hunsicker Jackson