Hold Still

Book excerpt: The electrifying memoir of acclaimed photographer Sally Mann – ‘An instant classic’ (New York Times) In this extraordinary memoir, the acclaimed American photographer Sally Mann blends narrative and image to explore the forces that shaped her work. Delving back into her family’s past and the storied landscapes of the South, Hold Still is about how we are made by people and place, and how we make our experiences into art. This is a totally original form of personal history that has the page-turning drama of a great novel but is firmly rooted in the fertile soil of Mann’s remarkable life. ‘A wild ride of a memoir. Visceral and visionary. Fiercely beautiful. My kind of true adventure’ Patti Smith ‘This book is riveting, ravishing – diving deep into family history to find the origins of art. I couldn’t take my eyes off it’ Ann Patchett