Challenge

Jane Silcott wanted to use photos that would evoke the sensations — the “shimmer and rustle” — of moving through the world, rather than images that referred to specific places or activities.

Collaborators

Ross Belot

Comments

“In this debut collection of personal essays, Silcott looks at the tangle of midlife, the long look back, the shorter look forward, and the moments right now that shimmer and rustle around her: marriage, menopause, fear, desire, loss, and that guy on the bus, the woman on the street, wandering bears, marauding llamas, light and laundry rooms.

This isn’t a “how to” guide to middle age and it’s not a collection of memories either—for one thing, the author can’t remember that much—for another, she’s more interested in the places where the raw bones of the personal intersect with the wider world.”