I dare you to not cry

by on April 19, 2007

The Pulitzer Prize for feature photography goes to Renée C. Byer of the Sacramento Bee. I dare you to look at her work and not cry. Start with the first photo and read the text with each photo (easy to miss cause you have to scroll to read it).

Thanks to Thomas Hawk for linking to this.

  • Goebbels
    Aww, you really do need that hug.
  • Pretty amazing. I wasn't prepared to go there emotionally tonight having suffered this loss myself. Didn't realize this was something you would make room for on your blog. kudos!
  • Ahh, Goebbels has a heart. :-)
  • Joe: I can't even imagine. It's one of my greatest fears of bringing another life into the world. I have written about things of the heart before, though. When my mom died last year I wrote about that. That post is here. http://scobleizer.com/2006/05/10/bad-news-gets-...
  • Congrats to Renée!

    I have always been a big fan of The Sacramento Bee!
  • Christopher Coulter
    Yeah, she's a local celebrity of sorts...saw her on trivia nights at Streets of London.
  • I sit here tonight and know that I am on the verge of another trip to see a critically/chronically ill child and my heart breaks for that mother. Thank you for this. I could use a hug myself. Hug Maryamie. Dang that was heartwrenching to view.
  • That was so sad, I'm in tears! Thanks for the link. It was really powerful.
  • I saw it last night (via Metafilter) and I couldn't stop crying.
  • Death is a part of life, and just like not all lives are easy, not all deaths are easy either.
  • I urge you all the read the complete series of articles. Incredible writing.
  • Love is watching someone die. I just hope that when it comes my time I'm lucky enough to have people around me as devoted as Cyndie.
    http://www.avalen.com/movabletype/archives/2006...
  • Thanks for this fab post...I added the photo and song she sang to her son the last day - in case it might add to the experience...

    Here:

    http://kimklaverblogs.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-da...
  • Having gone through a very similar thing with my mom, all I can say is "wow".
  • Words fail me. As gut-wrenching a piece of work as I have ever seen.
  • Very sad.
  • As with Paul Fabretti, words fail me. Very moving set of photos. *wipes away the tears*
  • Thanks for posting the link. For such a sad time, it's inspiring to see a mother's unwavering devotion to her son. In this day, we don't hear enough about all the good and love and nurturing parents do. I'm extremely sorry for their loss.
  • Thank you.
  • Renee C. Byer did much more than that. She chronicled the boy's life for what appears to be more than a year.

    Some of these photos (there are a lot more -- in color this time) are just heartbreaking.

    http://www.sacbee.com/static/richmedia/swf/jour...
    http://www.sacbee.com/static/richmedia/swf/jour...
    http://www.sacbee.com/static/richmedia/swf/jour...
    http://www.sacbee.com/static/richmedia/swf/jour...
  • Deb
    That was incredibly powerful. I sat here crying my eyes out. Life can be so sad at times, and I felt so deeply for this family, as they exposed themselves so honestly in these pictures.
  • Tim
    Thanks for linking. It stole two hours of my night, but it was worth it. It reminded me again, as a father of a young child, how lucky I am and how precious life is.

    I remember what you went through with your mom last year as well.

    Peace,
    Tim
  • ernst dirksen
    All the more poignent as death takes a young life. Yes, tears fall. A child's death is the most harrowing and prompts us to look at ourselves and reach for spiritual fulfilment.
    Ernst
  • Dillon Thomas
    May he rest in peace.
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