[facesmall.jpg]I hate having my picture taken. I really hate it... I don't look in mirrors if I can avoid it and the idea of a permanent record of what I look like, well, it makes me nervous. But about three months ago I got an email from a photographer named Corinne Botz saying she wanted to do a project on agoraphobics and would I let her take my picture. I thought about it and decided to put my resistence aside because I think there is great value in putting a face - faces - on this strange condition. [withRaphsmall.jpg]Reading the posts that people leave here, in the emails I get from people, in my own head, I know that those of who are agoraphobic think we are weirdos, that we are strange and different. And we are in some respects. But we are also profoundly normal. [flows.jpg]We are mothers and aunts and sisters and daughters and sons and fathers, wives, husbands and cousins. We are writers and artists and secretaries and teachers and nurses and computer geeks. Strange and isolating as our lives are, they are also [grimsmall2.jpg]typical in so many ways. Life is slowly teaching me that there is no such thing as an ordinary person. Some of us feel good about our differences, many of us feel terrible about them. I'm going to let Corinne take it from here. We have posted some of the photos from the time she spent with me (you can click on them to see them larger) and some of her other work as well. Much as I hate being photographed, I had a lovely day with Corinne. She brought me some beautiful flowers (see photo) and we just talked while she took pictures of Abby and me. (Unfortunatly, I was so nervous that I forgot to take her picture, so all I can share are the flowers.) I'm writing this article and posting these big belly and all photos in hopes that others will volunteer to be photographed as well and that we will be able to see that we are unique and special and not so very different after all. And now I turn the columm over to Corinne. We have interspersed some of her other photographs to give you a sense of her work. All photos except the flowers can be viewed in larger size by clicking on them.
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