This will explain, as you view Jonathan Ressler's portraits, the wide range of women - all ages and professions. Some are used to having the camera turned on them; for others, this was a novel experience. As for me, I was expecting a traditional photo shoot - like the ones I have done for author photos on my novels. What I got instead was a chance to climb a tree wearing a ball gown...and to see myself in a way I'd never imagined - as someone natural and beautiful, through and through; someone who fits seamlessly into the world around her so that she can chronicle it for others. I look at that first Polaroid, and I realize that Jonathan has captured, in one instant, what I strive for every time I write a novel.

It is said that art is that which moves us to tears and joy and changes us deep within, so that after we experience it, we've discovered a facet of ourselves we did not know existed. Jonathan Ressler's Photographs are ideally suited to this definition: a visual representation of the mark these women have left on the world, as framed by the eye of an expert.

~Jodi Picoult