Thursday, June 17, 2010

'My Father' Photo Essay: From Blog to Book

One of the Web's most powerful photo essays is now available as a hardcover book.

Photographer Phil Toledano kept a photo journal of his aging father's dying years, chronicling his difficult decline and demise -- from severe memory loss, to loss of control of his own body.

What began as a daily blog soon became an astonishingly melancholy and whimsically humorous Website, DaysWithMyFather.com , that hooks you from the first page and doesn't let you go. Its universal themes of mortality, the cruel passage of time, and inter-generational bonds of love will instantly engage you -- and haunt you long after you have stopped looking. He illuminates the big picture by focusing on specific details of one man's life. In short, Toledano's potent combo of conversational text and intimate images embody the essence of masterful visual storytelling.

DaysWithMyFather.com is still online. For the new hold-in-your-hands print version, try Amazon, where it is a top-10 best-selling title in the health, parenting, and photography categories.

Either way, you will not be able to start following the father-son journey without finishing it, and you will not finish it without being emotionally moved and transformed.

A perfect Father's Day treat, for both fathers and sons.

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