The Lost Daughter: A Memoir (27 page)

Sitting on top of Mount Katahdin, which is the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. I was so exhausted when I finally got there that I cried.

Taking a photo opportunity on the Appalachian Trail.

A baby seal encounter while I’m out flagging roads.

Just another mind-blowing afternoon on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica.

Me in Christchurch, New Zealand, suited up and prepared for a very long flight to my new job at McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

Christmastime at Jane’s loft in Atlanta. From the left: Me, Santa Jane holding my nephew Malcolm, my sister Vanessa holding my niece Viva, and my sister Nathalie.

Mother’s Day with Mama in Oakland. I cut her hair myself and I think it looks quite chic.

My first meeting with Mama in her little house.

My very happy reunion with my uncle Landon.

A Williams family “Fun in the Forest” event at Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Uncle Landon took the photo.

Enjoying the moment in the belly of an ancient redwood tree.

Mama and me.

My mamas and me.

Mary Williams’s work has appeared in
The Believer
,
McSweeney’s
, and
O: The Oprah Magazine
. She is the author of the children’s book,
Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan.
She lives in the Southwest.