Forthright

I met Charlease at Panera and we became fast friends. Big voice, funny and kind...I liked her immediately. We laughed about life and talked about coffee and what we were both into. She has two beautiful boys, Bryan and Branton. Bryan, 11, plays the Bass Tuba in he band, Branton is 5 and loves legos.

I was figuring out career decisions and what to do about a myriad of life options. We started talking about cooking and her fried chicken, and one day she invited me over to learn how to make it. I got to snuggle with her boys and she made chicken, sweet cornbread, collard greens, and told me her life story and I told her mine.

We kept taking pictures and hanging out, and one day she told me about more personal things. She is a single mother living with Crohn’s disease and with no support from the children’s father. We took these photos on the side of the Tennessee River right after she took him to child support court for the first time in 11 years. She was terrified, but she got (a piece) of what she deserved from a hard-nosed judge and also got some financial relief. I was so proud of her, and we all went out and celebrated with Pizza.

Charlease has an incredible story. Check out more of the photos here: https://silverhighway.smugmug.com/Client-Proofs/Charlease/i-CpzBFSg