Bodies and Souls by Frank Cordelle

Bodies and Souls
224 pages; Heureka Productions
Don't cover your eyes. The women who appear in Bodies and Souls: The Century Project (Heureka Productions) want you to see them—really see them—in all their naked humanity. For nearly 25 years, photographer Frank Cordelle has crisscrossed the country to photograph a cross-section of women, ages 0 to 100, of every conceivable size, shape, race, and ethnicity—young anorexics and middle-aged cancer survivors, girlishly exuberant 90-somethings, women who have survived abuse and self-disparagement to celebrate their perfectly imperfect bodies and themselves. They speak to us directly, on the pages facing their photographs. "Look at me," insists Stella, a 20-year-old Korean-Canadian. "Do you see yourself staring back at you? Know that you are beautiful."