An Autobiography of Miss Wish

"An Autobiography of Miss Wish" is a tale about two lives intertwined, subject and photographer, working collaboratively to create a uniquely enigmatic book, which pushes the boundaries of documentary storytelling. It is a haunting, dark story of a survivor of sex trafficking and child pornography and her struggle to survive and find physical and emotional safety, to assert herself as an artist and narrator, and to craft a life while living in a state of flashbacks, trauma and addiction. Photographed over 25 years in London and then New York City where Miss Wish fled on the advice of Scotland Yard, the story is told through multiple narrative elements including the protagonist’s vast personal archive which was safeguarded by the photographer who assumed the role of friend and advocate. The resulting book weaves together this archive of harrowing drawings depicting crime scenes and flashbacks, hospital psychiatric reports, diary entries, personal ephemera and letters and text messages between photographer and protagonist.

Nina Berman is a documentary photographer, author and educator, whose photographs and videos have been exhibited at more than 100 international venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Portland Art Museum, and Dublin Contemporary. She is the author of two monographs "Purple Hearts – Back from Iraq", portraits and interviews with wounded American veterans, and "Homeland", which explores the militarization of American life post September 11. She’s received awards from the World Press Photo Foundation, Pictures of the Year International, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Open Society Foundation. She is the 2016 Aftermath Project grant winner and the 2017 Susan Tifft fellow at the Center for Documentary studies at Duke University. She is a member of NOOR images and an associate professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she directs the photography program. She lives in her hometown of New York City. Kimberly Stevens is a survivor of sex trafficking and child pornography. She contributed drawings, diary entries, personal ephemera and letters to the book.