Four years I started a project. I didn’t know what was going to happen with it, but I began it anyway. They say the hardest part of any journey is the first step.

700 people—and 24,000 photos—later, I now have a book, published today by Daylight Books. I’m incredibly proud of it, because the project is both very personal, yet still universal.

Some people who buy the book will just look at the photos, and that’s fine. But I hope they’ll also read some of the quotes from the participants, because they provide a broader definition of what family, and resemblance, can mean. I also hope people will read my introduction to the book, because it offers another filter through with the project can be experienced. And lastly, Ann Fessler’s essay, The Missing Picture, helps us all understand what it would have been like for my birth mother (and millions like her) to be pregnant and unmarried in a time when that would cause a scandal.

In addition to a book, Family Resemblance is also a website, with a broader selection of photos than we had room for in the print version.

I didn’t make this book by myself; in particular I want to thank all the participants of the project, who were generous with their time and their families’ stories.