Product Description

Fifty-four portraits of women that are striking, beautiful, and real. The bodies in this book have been shaped by the full sweep of the feminine experience.

They belong to 54 women from all over the country, ages 19 to 95, of all sizes and shapes, ethnicities, and life experiences, who were willing to expose their naked physical forms in This Is Who I Am. They are ordinary women only in the sense that none is a professional model. They are in all other ways extraordinary—courageous, curious, thoughtful, speaking unflinchingly about their bodies, then allowing themselves to be photographed to inspire other women to make peace with their physical selves, "to glorify the real beauty of all women."

Certainly, the feminine nude form is not new to artists and photographers. But the portraits in This Is Who I Am, taken by award-winning photographer Rosanne Olson, with a steady, unjudgmental eye, speak loudly to the American obsession of feminine perfection—slim hips and full breasts, high cheekbones and tiny waists, taut skin and eternal youth—and even more loudly to the way real women, with real bodies and real lives, look.

By turns tender, personal, and moving, this tribute to contemporary womanhood is the perfect gift for mothers to give to daughters, daughters to cousins, cousins to friends.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21400 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 116 pages

Review
"This is an absolutely wonderful book. Every woman needs to see it! It has made me feel inspired, exhilarated, normal and beautiful!"
—Kate Winslet

From the Inside Flap
The bodies in this book have been shaped by the full sweep of the feminine experience. They belong to doctors, lawyers, artists, mothers, professors, performance artists—women from all over the country, ages nineteen to ninety-five, of all ethnicities and life experiences. These are ordinary women only in the sense that none is a professional model. They are in all other ways extraordinary—courageous, curious, thoughtful, speaking unflinchingly about their bodies, then allowing themselves to be photographed to inspire other women to make peace with their physical selves.

Certainly, the feminine nude form is not new to artists and photographers. But the portraits in This Is Who I Am, taken by award-winning photographer Rosanne Olson with a steady, non-judgemental eye speak loudly to the American obsession of feminine perfection—slim hips and full breasts, high cheekbones and tiny waists, taut skin and eternal youth—and even more loudly to the way real women, with real bodies and real lives, look. Each of the striking and classically photographed potraits in this book stands on its own. Looked at together they form a tribute to contemporary womanhood that is by turns tender, personal, and moving. This Is Who I Am goes to the heart of these women's lives. It will touch any mother, wife, or daughter, and any husband, son, or father, too.

About the Author
Rosanne Olson is a fine arts and commercial photographer. She has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and teaches workshops on creativity, lighting, and portraiture. Her commercial clients include the New York City Ballet, Seattle Symphony, Boeing, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard. Her photographs have been exhibited in galleries around the U.S. and have received many awards. She lives in Seattle with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Real women, real beauty
That model on the cover, Dana, could you ever believe that she has doubts about her loveliness? Her brief blurb about herself sounds far less than certain about the incredible beauty of a perfectly ordinary woman like her. That is a crime and a tragedy, one that this collection confronts directly.

The models range from 19 to 95, with every decade between represented. Constance, age 80, peers back at the viewer with an elfin smile. Kia, at 37, stares off with a gaze that seems far older than her face and figure. Moods of the other models range in every direction. Emily, an archetype of blonde slederness, battles betrayal by her body as genetic lung disease takes its toll on her. Mothers and mothers-to-be bring children to the images they use to define themselves. Beautiful women from East Asian families talk about how they were too tall, or curvy, or toned, or strong to be worth a second look back home - what a difference a continent makes!

Beauty does not mean being pretty, although the two do appear together some times. Instead, it's about the varied and complicated lives people live, and about the figures and features from every corner of the human planet. It's about all of people's ages too. I wish every happy loves in their lives, however long they live. For that to happen, the woman and the one who loves her must love her look at every age, and after every demand on her body. This book is really about loving all those looks.

-- wiredweird

Five stars aren't enough
"I think if people are graceful and have some peace within them, then they are beautiful." Ellen, 52 (page 108)


Rosanne Olsen's book, This Is Who I Am is an absolute must read.* The pages are filled with women, each beautiful and courageous, and their thoughts about bodies and beauty. Every woman's story resonates in me. "I could have written that." "That was me." "That is me." "Will that be me?"

This book is a reflection of me. Of every woman.

I have yet to meet a woman who is completely in love with herself, her body, her being. The women in Ms. Olsen's book are no different.

And yet, their words are inspiring. Full of hope as they each strive for peace.

While each woman's words echoed in me, the most profound statement which sums up the theme of this book came from Jami, a wise woman at 19, "Perfection is a myth." (page 69)

Perfection most definitely is a myth. Beauty is found in the imperfections. In the wrinkles and cracks, scars and sags. It's in these "blemishes" that our uniqueness lies. Our uniqueness is what makes us beautiful. Each and every one of us.

Rosanne Olsen celebrates this uniqueness in the pages of this book. Her skill with the camera captured each woman's soul with gentleness and respect. The women glowed from the pages, making their words come alive. I could hear each woman speak to me, through their eyes, their expressions, their body positions.

I found myself talking to these women.
To Rae Ellen, 59 (page 56), who described her attempts to lose weight over the years, I cried, "You're beautiful just as you are! Stop the dieting cycle. Stop the yoyo!"
To LaRae, 25 (page 58), when I read, "Maybe I can inspire women everywhere to love themselves, no matter their size, naked or clothed," I shouted, "ROCK ON!"
To Susan, 48 (page 86), who wrote "It frustrates me that this is a lifetime challenge: the tongue versus the chin, the taste buds versus the circumference of my thighs." I moaned, "No! I refuse to believe that it has to be that way. I refuse to believe that one has to choose deprivation to be healthy."

The women in This Is Who I Am are powerful. Each is amazing. It is only fitting that Ms. Olsen chose to end this book with Maya Angelou's poem, "Phenomenal Woman." Each of these women are indeed phenomenal. I applaud their courage in showing themselves to the world - emotionally and physically.

I applaud Rosanne Olsen for her bravery. For showing to the world that beauty is inside each and every one of us.

Outstanding publication
Every woman should have a copy of this book. She then needs to share it with her children, grandhcildren, nieces, friends' children ... The photography is incredible and the personal reflections are poignant, timeless and moving. I purchased five additional copies as gifts. My only regret is I'm not in it!