"It's What I Do" by Lynsey Addario | A Book Review
“I choose to live in peace and witness war—to experience the worst in people but to remember the beauty.” -Lynsey Addario
In the book, "It's What I do": A Photographer's Life of Love and War, by Lynsey Addario, there is an innate anecdote of determination and resilience. This anecdote is present from the first page to the last page. In the introduction, she begins with her description of her time in Libya in 2011, and it made me feel like I was there. The way she narrates is descriptive, lush, and personal. Filled with images of war and a longing to be home with her family, she transports the reader to her inner world as she observes the war zones she is attempting to photograph. The fear, the anguish, the unknown, and yet an internal drive to capture a moment, to tell a story, and a love for justice propel her to her calling, sometimes at great cost to her and her loved ones.
Lynsey Addario’s drive to tell the stories of those affected most by war and conflict, and her longing for justice for those innocent lives that have been ripped apart is one that is very relatable to me. I found Addario’s drive to be very valiant and courageous, and likened it to my own personal drive in 2016 to tell the story of what was happening on the ground at Standing Rock, ND. during the NoDAPL protests,. Albeit, a bit less intense than people trying to kill each other, but, still a war zone like environment. As I read her tales of being deeply entrenched in conflict, I asked myself if I could find the courage to do what she had done, and to be honest, I don’t really know if I could, and that makes me appreciate what she and countless other conflict photojournalists do all that much more. I certainly learned a lot from her insights into photojournalism, and even though I am in a different caliber than her, I have found them handy in what and how I shoot. The most important thing being, tell the story at all costs so the innocent have a voice, always shoot with compassion and justice, and never stop shooting.
Not only was I captivated by Addario’s story telling (let me tell you, I have not been so captivated by a book in a long while) in “It’s What I Do”, but her photos were and are on a whole new level. From her early work with transgendered prostitutes in New York, to her photos of Muslim women in Afghanistan, each photo is rich in story and personality. My favorite quote from the book was: “I choose to live in peace and witness war—to experience the worst in people but to remember the beauty.” and the photo that best represented that to me was the one she took of Afghanistan women (pictured below) in 2009 while she was shooting her series on infant mortality from around the world. This photo brought me to tears when I first saw it just by its sheer beauty, but after hearing her explanation of the photo, it really brought the tears home. I feel Addario’s work lives up to her motto of, “remembering beauty”. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter what their tastes may be, because this book is a stark reminder of what it means to be human, in all its ugliness, and in all its beauty.
