The Beauty of Different [Hardcover]

Karen Walrond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2010

Constantly bombarded with messages on how to think, how to feel, how to look, it can be very easy to fall into the mindset that we somehow fail as individuals, that we are not enough. But the truth is, those aspects of ourselves that make us individuals are actually the source of our own beauty, our super power. The Beauty of Different explores beauty in nine fresh ways and challenges the reader to revel in her own uniqueness. Combining beautiful imagery, portraiture, insightful commentary, essays, and interviews, this multisensory exploration of what is really beautiful provokes deeper self-discovery. Designed to connect and inspire, The Beauty of Different encourages the reader to reframe her differences, not as shortcomings, but as characteristics of distinction—maybe even superpowers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nationally renowned for her ability to see the beauty in the world around us, Karen Walrond is the author of the photoblog Chookooloonks (www.chookooloonks.com/blog), which pairs striking imagery and inspiring words. Published online since February 2004, Chookooloonks was named one of the Best Adoption Blogs on the web by Adoptive Families magazine. She is a seasoned public speaker and has appeared on both local and national television shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her art pieces and projects have been included in exhibits around the country. She contributes to the collaborative Web site Shutter Sisters, a photoblog aimed at inspiring and creating community among avid women photographers. She is author of Through the Gadling Lens, a weekly column on the travel site Gadling.com, with tips and other information on travel photography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Bright Sky Press (November 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933979968
• ISBN-13: 978-1933979960
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Walrond, a former engineer and attorney, is the author of Chookooloonks, the award-winning website which pairs striking imagery and inspiring words to provide evidence that the ordinary is, in fact, extraordinary. Published online since 2004, Chookooloonks was voted Best Eye Candy Blog 2010 of the 2010 BlogLuxe awards and judge's pick for best photoblog of the Black Weblogs Awards. She is a contributor to the book Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sisters' Guide to Shooting from the Heart, a guide for beginning and intermediate photographers in adding heart and soul to their imagery. Karen's writing, images and other projects have been featured on CNN.com, Good Housekeeping, Wondertime magazine among others. Karen is a sought-after keynote speaker and has appeared on both local and national television, including The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Karen's new book, The Beauty of Different, is a chronicle of imagery and portraiture combined with written essays and observations on the concept that what makes us different makes us beautiful -- and may even be the source of our superpowers. It is available from both Bright Sky Press and Amazon.

Visit Karen at www.chookooloonks.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful November 9, 2010

By Rachel Matthews

Format:Hardcover

The Beauty of Different is one of those books that you want to sit and read all at once, and I did. But, it's also a book that deserves your time, it's a book that you'll go back to again and again -- to absorb, to reflect, to be inspired.

I found myself touching each picture, running my fingertips over them as if I could feel their depth and textures with them.

I sat reading it, nodding, sighing and feeling.

Karen has a unique way of looking at the world and a gift for story telling and sharing. Through her words, her pictures and her subject's stories -- I found myself wanting to change the way that I view myself and the world. I want to look for the beautiful, take the time to find it and relish it.

I want to tell everyone about this book because everyone should see these words and images and most especially, the message.

I will be buying this book for friends and family.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully different November 2, 2010

By megg

Format:Hardcover

The Beauty of Different is just that - different! I buy a lot of books, and often find myself reading just the first few pages or the first half, getting distracted or not being inspired and leaving them, often not coming back. This book was different. From the first pages I was hooked and read the whole thing within 12 hours of owning it. More than a few of Karen's interviews and stories had me in tears, and although it is about the differences and uniqueness of every individual, what the book also did was reveal the real universality of being human. I found myself wanting to be interviewed by the author so that I could see myself and my story through her lens.

Intimate and delightful, this is a book that you will dip into again and again!

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book and give it to your daughter November 5, 2010

By James Lawson

Format:Hardcover

I read this whole book in a single sitting and found myself nodding and learning and thinking and wanting to wake up my daughter to read it to her so that she'll know all of these important lessons now, rather than as I'm learning them in my 30's. Karen's work is moving and her photography is amazing. A perfect gift for others and one I plan on giving out to my family.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Marriage of Thoughtful Prose & Soul-Grabbing Visual Artistry! February 7, 2011

By Leisa A. Hammett

Format:Hardcover

What makes this book so special? So...different? It's much more than a coffee table book. It bears a fair amount of copy. It's an unusual compilation of beautiful stories and imagery. Much like reading Walrond's blog, there are stories and photos of exceptional people--illustrated here to give a "different" take on beauty. Interspersed with stunning close-ups of plant life. And then Karen's musings, such as her "Twenty Truths I Wish I'd Known Twenty Years Ago," in her section entitled "Views on Agelessness. Writes Walrond: "No.10: The most important practices are meditation, movement, learning and gratitude. Do each, in some form on or fashion, every day. And if doing one of the four qualifies as 'play,': bonus points."

The Beauty of Different was worthy of my canary-yellow highlighter. But, I couldn't do it. Not this beautiful book that will not be wedged and hidden on a bookcase. How clever to take her visual medium and intersperse it with close-ups of unique-looking people, with close-ups of flowers and arrange it in topics, such as individuality, spirituality, imperfection, anxiety, heartbreak, language, adventure and agelessness. Woven with the photography and the profiles of people exemplifying/telling a different spin on each topic, is the author's own "different" life story and insights. [A more detailed review on my blog.]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Read November 27, 2010

By LucySue

Format:Hardcover

WOW! This book is absolutely fabulous! I could hardly put it down. Not only is it beautiful to the eyes, it is so full of beautifully written words that I feel transformed just having read them! Karen has such a talent for showing the beauty of this world to us. As I was reading, I was hoping that my 12 year-old daughter would also want to read the book because it is so full of plain truths that we should all recognize. As soon as I finished, she picked it up and started reading for herself and she loves it as well! I plan on purchasing more copies for friends to read. Karen reminds us that we are all beautiful - in our own ways!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, well written book! February 22, 2011

By desertmama

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is for everyone in your life. It is the best gift book I can think of: for teen girls, moms, grandmothers, aware and sensitive men. I raced through it when I first got it and have gone back to it many times. I'm reading it to my daughters (7 & 4) now. We love it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty of Different October 27, 2010

By Jacqui

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I highly recommend KAREN WALROND'S book, "THE BEAUTY OF DIFFERENT". Karen captured the beauty of every subject she photographed and wrote about. You are truly a very talented author and photographer.
L J Seegobin

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and Inspiring February 6, 2011

By Maile

Format:Hardcover

I loved every square inch of this book. The photography is exquisite. And the stories are both inspiring and liberating. The message that we should find beauty in our differences is much needed and seldom told. I'm so grateful for the work that the author is doing to begin to change the narrow way that society defines beauty.