Girlhood: Lost and Found explores the experience females face growing up and growing old in a world full of preconceived notions of what it means to be a woman. Lost objects coupled with intimate portraits of the artist and her daughter mirror one another, examining the desires women abandon to conform to unrealistic ideals in our culture, often losing sight of their identities as they maneuver society’s stereotypes. The discarded items offer the opportunity to reflect on what unreasonable expectations both the artist and the female collective can also leave behind, providing a chance to rediscover who they were before they learned how they were seen by the world. 

In addition to the photographs, the book is laced with many thoughtful surprise details, some in the form of intimate writings such as love letters written by Jamie, her mother, and her aunt, as well quotes by award winning authors Martha Beck and Melissa Febos. Viewers will also discover a mini-magazine insert compiled of rephotographed old ads the artist was featured in during her years working as a model and actor. It is a remixed and condensed version of the poison women are regularly force-fed by the media, created with the intention of moving forward the conversation around the toxic messages women receive from the beauty/fashion industry and self-betrayal. The book concludes with thought-provoking commentary shared by a variety of females ranging in age from 13-81 years old, including artist and filmmaker Laurie Simmons, renowned actor and musician Jill Hennesy, 2018 Guggenheim Fellow artist and educator Rania Matar, founder of wellness platform MWH Melissa Wood-Tepperberg, life coach, author, and mental health advocate Trish Barillas, the artist’s daughter and son, and many more. 

The Foreward is written by Elinor Carucci, a fine art photographer with work included in many solo and group exhibitions worldwide as well as an impressive number of publications internationally. Her work is in the collections of the MoMA, The Jewish Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Art, the Brooklyn Museum and many others. She was awarded the ICP Infinity Award, The Guggenheim Fellowship and NYFA in 2010, and has published four monographs to date. Carucci teaches at the School of Visual Arts and is represented by Edwynn Houk Gallery.