“Love is not finding the right person, but creating a right relationship. It’s not how much love you have in the beginning but how much love you build till the end.”

… On September 14th her husband Vittorio Scarpati died from an AIDS-related illness and after that Cookie kind of gave up. She died on November 10th in the hospice of the Cabrini Medical Centre.

I used to think I couldn’t lose anyone if I photographed them enough. I put together this series of pictures of Cookie from the 13 years I knew her in order to keep her with me. In fact, they show me how much I’ve lost.

N.Y.C Sept. 1990

� Nan Goldin, 1996. I’ll Be Your Mirror.

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.