I see your bravery.
I see your beauty.
I see your heart.
I see your courage.
I see your amazing.
12 women. 12 survivor of domestic abuse. 12 stories of courage.
The original models for Choose Courage said yes before Choose Courage was even a thing. They said yes to being a part of a photography project “I See You” to celebrate the beauty of survivors. They said yes to breaking the shame of domestic abuse.
They said yes and became an inspiration to victims still trapped in a life of violence.
We didn’t know 5 years ago what that “yes” meant, the lives it would change or the impact it would have.
I was inspired to photograph survivors as I volunteered at a local shelter. There was a desperation to show them their beauty that was emerging from the hard, to use my lens as proof that they were enough and they were seen.
We had each session one by one. Some were quiet, some you could hear the laughter a good distance away and one was intense but they all had magic that is hard to explain.
There is power in these images and that power is hope.
I am so very grateful to the original 12 survivors who said yes to my project and my vision. Their yes created a trajectory in the life of so many that we couldn’t have imagined.
The journey of building the Choose Courage Foundation has challenged me to grow as an artist, a leader, and face my own fears of not being seen. I am eternally grateful for their courage.
xoxo Rhonda