“You who the borders crossed
You whose fires
You decent with rage, so in love with the earth
You writing poems alongside children
You cactus, water, sparrow, crow You, my elder
You are who I love,
summoning the courage, making the cobbler”
-Aracelis Girmay
As a single mother navigating the challenges of mental health and the weight of raising a child without a village, I’ve come to realize that a lot can happen in a fleeting moment—a quarter of a second, even a 60th of a second. These brief instances capture the secret moments that often go unnoticed in the rush of life. This series delves into those hidden moments at home in America, offering a glimpse into the complex realities of modern parenthood, including my own.
In these images, I explore the quiet resilience of parents amidst the whirlwind of energetic children who are constantly pushing boundaries, exploring, jumping, and dancing. In the eye of that storm, I see myself and others like me—caregivers summoning the strength to keep going, even when the path ahead feels uncertain.
The statistics about American families today are heartbreaking: suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people aged 10-14, and homicide is the third. Mental health struggles are on the rise, with both youth and adults seeking therapy and medication more than ever. Loneliness, depression, and anxiety have become pervasive, and young adults are choosing not to have children as frequently as previous generations. Meanwhile, family ties are fraying, with children distancing themselves from their parents. This series reflects my own questions and fears: What is happening to the American family? Why does it feel like we’re breaking down?
In this work, I capture parents doing it all, often alone. Where once there were villages of extended family and close-knit communities, today’s parents are left to navigate the complexities of raising children with little to no support. Many of us are struggling to survive on a single income while juggling the demands of work, childcare, and the pressure to limit screen time, serve healthy meals, and find meaningful moments with our children.
Though the families in this series come from diverse cultural, national, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds, they all share the common challenge of raising children in America today. They all live within an hour of Atlanta, yet they are often isolated, lacking the connections that once formed the backbone of child-rearing.
The images in this series are nostalgic relics, captured in black and white on a Rolleiflex camera from the 1950s that my father passed down to me. This tool, with its history, symbolizes the significance of the things we carry forward from one generation to the next and how these legacies echo through time. My hope is that by capturing families with something historic might connect us to something many have lost, or haven’t had for generations – a village.
Inspired by the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child,” this series poses a crucial question: What happens when there are no villages? I don’t claim to have the answer. Instead, I offer a reflection—a visual exploration of the interior world of parenthood. Using long exposures to depict the struggle, I initiate a dialogue on how extreme individualism has left those of us still trying to nurture our families, often isolated and disconnected from the broader society.
Discovering what moves us 