Dan Winters once wrote, “Evidence of a life replete with love is, in my mind, the greatest gift a photographer can give to the world.” Eric Brown couldn’t agree more, and he has sought to do just that in documenting and sharing his family’s life with his youngest daughter, Pearl Joy Brown.

Pearl was born July 27, 2012, and Eric started to realize several months after her birth, that even those closest to their family were unable to grasp what life was truly like in their home, and it seemed necessary for them to understand that in order to know how to engage and relate to them. The typical assumption Eric found over and over was that perhaps their life was a 24/7 festival of thanksgiving, complete with unicorns and cupcakes. Or, considering the gravity of everything, that they just sat around tired and frightened all the time, battling heavy hearts and watery eyes.

It’s neither of those things all the time, though it’s both of those extremes at different times. And sometimes it’s just really boring and ostracizing. Eric’s hope is to do his best in helping others understand… to take them by the hand and walk them through the ins and outs, that they may gain a better perspective on the disproportionate amount of joy that Pearl has brought into their lives. Eric wants to share those gifts while making engagement with her, or other kids like her, less intimidating. It’s a life filled with moments of celebration over the smallest and most mundane gifts, and those gifts are less than obvious if you’re not privy to the intricacies of her life.

As a photographer, he has opted to use his camera along side of his words to portray the clearest, most honest telling he can.