Freedom Under Fire A Different Perspective Photo Essay

In this double exposure darkroom print made from two film negatives, a portrait of Lonnie, left, and Sandy Phillips from Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, is layered with a photo of the memorial to the victims of the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in which Jessica Ghawi, Sandy's daughter and Lonnie's stepdaughter, was killed in Aurora, Colo. Suffering through their own personal loss after the mass shooting, the couple set out to help other parents like them, traveling to shooting sites around the country. The trip continued for a decade. They'd found themselves in Newtown or Parkland or Uvalde or whatever fresh hell had just been put on the map. They had lessons to share, advice that could only be amassed by someone who'd lived through the same. So, Sandy would clasp the hands of the mourners and ask about the ones they'd been robbed of and mouth words that could surprise her as much as those who listened. "You will," she said confidently, "find joy again." Sometimes, Jessi visits her mother in her dreams, usually appearing as a toddler. When she awakes, she'll squeeze her eyes closed and try and coax the dream to return. She begs for more. "Let me feel her touch me," she says. "Let me feel her hug me. Let me feel her kiss me on the cheek again. Let me hear her laugh again. Let me hear her high heels coming up the walkway." Let me, she wishes, be happy. (AP Photo/David Goldman) DOUBLE EXPOSURE DARKROOM PRINT MADE FROM TWO FILM NEGATIVES.

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