An Autobiography of Miss Wish

"An Autobiography of Miss Wish" is a tale about two lives intertwined, subject and photographer, working collaboratively to create a uniquely enigmatic book, which pushes the boundaries of documentary storytelling. It is a haunting, dark story of a survivor of sex trafficking and child pornography and her struggle to survive and find physical and emotional safety, to assert herself as an artist and narrator, and to craft a life while living in a state of flashbacks, trauma and addiction. Photographed over 25 years in London and then New York City where Miss Wish fled on the advice of Scotland Yard, the story is told through multiple narrative elements including the protagonist's vast personal archive which was safeguarded by the photographer who assumed the role of friend and advocate. The resulting book weaves together this archive of harrowing drawings depicting crime scenes and flashbacks, hospital psychiatric reports, diary entries, personal ephemera and letters and text messages between photographer and protagonist.
A work of collaborative storytelling around a terrifying narrative of violence, love and survival
"When I opened Nina Berman's An Autobiography of Miss Wish, published by Kehrer, it was like a burst of energy, a fireball of amazing story telling, page after page that drew me in. And the deeper I went, the more my heart ached." - Aline Smithson for Lenscratch, January 22, 2018 "Some descriptions of a thing don't do it justice. You may understand the components, you may know certain facts, but these items, on their own, don't adequately convey the enormity of the thing. Sometimes, you come across a book, one that moves you so profoundly you almost can't believe it. Nina Berman's recent release, An autobiography of Miss Wish, is one of these." - Lauren Greenwald for Fraction Magazine, Issue 107, February 2018