Life has a way of giving you exactly what you need, when you need it.

We were contacted about a year ago and asked to be a part of Covenant Hospice’s Faces of Life book project. The timing was right - we were still fairly new to Pensacola (which my mom thinks is funny for me to say, as I am a native Pensacolian!) - and I was looking for the right charity to team up with on an ongoing photography project.

Charles and I were driving to Home Depot for some yard supplies one Monday and I was being my usual chatterbox self talking on and on about wanting to get involved in our community and find a way to use our talents to team up with a local charity or non-profit and “give back”. We talked about all the possibilities and before we could step foot through the sliding doors, I had narrowed my criteria down to the following:

- It must be a charity or non-profit group
- The project mission must be to raise awareness for a cause
- It has to be flexible enough to work with my busy schedule
- It must be an opportunity that allows me a little creative freedom and input
- It must be for a cause I can get behind with my heart

We bought our mulch and whatnot and headed back home. That night, after a little light yardwork, I sat down to my computer intent on finding an organization to contact with my ideas. What I found in my email inbox just about knocked me over. I had received an email that afternoon - while we were at Home Depot - from a friend who was writing to let me know about an opportunity I might be interested in that would allow me to share my talents with Covenant Hospice in their Faces of Life book project. The email went on to explain the project and the opportunity to serve as a photographer and contributor to a book that was slated to go to print in November 2006. This was exactly what I had just been talking about!

In the weeks and months to come, I learned so much about this organization and the great people that serve Covenant Hospice - and I took photographs. Photos of patients at the end of their lives, photos of children whom had recently lost their loved ones, and photos of men and women who still have so much life and so many stories…

Here are a few of the faces and stories we photographed for the Faces of Life book:

This shot was featured on the book’s cover:

The following two images are from our sitting with Dressie Mae whose story was highlighted in the book. The following is an excerpt from the book:

Sitting upright in her chair and speaking in a quiet voice, Dressie Mae is the vision of a woman slightly weathered by her life experiences, trials and tribulations. Born in Wacissa, Florida in 1913, Dressie Mae has experienced a lot in her life—from black men hung on trees to a cross burned on her lawn for renting her spare house to a white minister.

“I grew up in an area where there was a filling station and one little store,� she recalls. Life was difficult then. Not only did Dressie Mae face challenges of racism and the Great Depression of the 1930s, she also faced the challenge of getting an education, which she overcame by earning her degree in cosmetology. Over the years, she won about six or seven trophies from hairstyle shows.

Dressie Mae and her husband Joseph married in her mother’s kitchen and were together for ten years. She sees little comparison between her husband and men today. “Sometimes I think all the good men are gone. The men back in my days were nice, gentle and not demanding,� she says, undoubtedly describing Joseph. The couple never had children, but many of the neighborhood kids became like their own. Not having children gave Dressie Mae the freedom to travel. She is proud to have flown 21 times and visited at least six states.

A strong woman, great motivator, and well-known political activist, Dressie Mae is a member of the Capital City Democratic Women’s Club in Tallahassee, Florida, and was recently honored by the organization. They recognized her assistance in African American voter registration for arranging transportation to the polls and promoting freedom and equality for all.

You can read more about Dressie Mae’s Strength in the Faces of Life book.

A little info on the book:

In celebration of National Hospice Month, Covenant Hospice has published a new book titled Faces of Life. The 96 page hard back book contains inspirational stories from Covenant Hospice patients and their loved ones. Each story is accompanied by a beautiful black and white photograph taken by local professional photographers who donated their time and talent to the project.

The Faces of Life book, with a forward written by healthcare professional, author and speaker Quint Studer, can be purchased at any Covenant Hospice branch office or online at www.covenanthospice.org and is only $29.95. Proceeds from the book will benefit unfunded and under-funded special programs and indigent patient care.

Covenant Hospice currently serves over 1,100 patients daily and is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate care to patients and loved ones facing life-limiting illnesses.

We were honored to have been a very small part of this very big project.