The book, Olson said, is her way of proving that our bodies were created to transport our souls. A good body isn't a thin body or a young body or an alabaster body. A good body is a healthy body - one that helps us to live our life to the fullest.
"In order to appreciate your life, you have to appreciate the vehicle that carries you around in life," said Olson at a local Starbucks, as she peered over jeweled, black-framed eyeglasses.
Olson spent five years shooting 54 women against a softly painted backdrop. The bodies - whatever the complexion - seem to blend right in.
Yet despite the fact that they bared all for the camera, the women Olson photographed were just as conflicted about their bodies as we are. Each picture is accompanied by an essay that explains how the woman's self-image has been shaped by her body image.
There is 42-year-old Gretchen, photographed shortly after a mastectomy with only her right breast, and 38-year-old Loti, who loves her brown body. Kiyoka, who is 31, laments that she's too skinny, even though her Japanese culture adores near-skeletal figures.
There are overweight women who are proud of their sagging skin, voluptuous breasts and odd tattoos. There are mothers pictured with their children who want their daughters to be cured of self-loathing. An adopted woman couldn't appreciate her body until she met her birth parents.
Elderly women are included, covering themselves demurely with weightless tulle. Their creased wrinkles appear as hard-earned accessories that demand our respect rather than open-mouthed stares.
