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Defining Forty is a celebration of female friendship. How does that old saying go? Lovers come and lover go but girlfriends are forever.
The concept came from a photographic assignment where I photographed my friend Jane, in a number of interesting locations. Friends loved the result and said if they could look that good naked, they too would do a shoot. As we all fall somewhere in the 39 - 49 year age group, we discussed how life is now we are in our forties and the journey we have all taken. This was my inspiration to create the book.
When I asked each of my friends to join me in this project, I was surprised by how many agreed - even though the very thought of showing their naked bodies to the world scared the hell out of them.
I asked each woman to consider: Who are you today? What was your journey and how has this influenced the person you are at 40? What is vitally important to you today? And what isn't? Do you enjoy growing older or do you wish you could tum back the clock? Is 40 what you expected?
The whole process for each of the women, not just in getting their gear off but in sitting down and reflecting on their lives, has been interesting and challenging. Raising children, second (if not third) marriages, single parenthood, surviving cancer, battling depression, overcoming addictions, online dating, buying age appropriate clothes, going back on the Pill; life doesn't always turn out a planned.
Hearing their stories in their own words has been an absolute privilege me. I learned things about my friends that I didn't know. I laughed, I cried and I stood in awe of their honesty and bravery in tackling the task.
The job then was getting the book published in a world that celebrates celebrity. My friends are not famous, or fabulously rich; rather they are everyday women living their lives in a way that make me proud to call them my friends . I am not an established photographer; they are not professional writers. So what we have produced is an un-airbrushed, warts and all book that I hope connects with the women who read it.
I believe real women want to hear from and be inspired by real women, not twenty-something b-grade celebrities in gossip magazines. We are women who live life on life's term and each of us has a story to tell.
Stephanie Small
Sawtell NSW, June 2010
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