Shutterbabe (Adventures in Love and War) by Deborah Copaken Cogan (2000)

Cogan is a gung ho girl who after graduating from college, flew to Paris to establish herself as a photojournalist.  The book consists of six chapters narrating her travel assignments in Afghanistan, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Romania, and Russia. She was only 22 when she took on her first assignment in Afghanistan where she travelled as a lone photojournalist with mujahideens. Cogan’s memoir stops at New York where she eventually settled when she had two children.  But that’s getting ahead of the story.

Each chapter in Shutterbabe narrates Cogan’s travel assignments in these different countries, the dangers she faced (she’s been assaulted, propositioned, and left in the middle of a desert, among other things), the financial hardships (in most of these assignments she had to pay for most of her expenses and hope that her pictures get published), the men she met in these trips (one terrifyingly obnoxious and one gently pointing to her some lessons in life), political background of the stories she was covering, her opinions on photography (she thinks “photo montees are bullshit”) and a lot of tips for those interested to take the photojournalism route.  The memoir is full of Cogan’s observations on human prejudices, poverty, and the difficulties of a woman trying to make her mark in the world.

Cogan, while in the middle of a tortuous relation with a Romanian, a liaison with a Frenchman, and an impending visit from an American who broke her heart years before, would meet a Russian émigré who became her future husband. In a span of 10 days, Cogan, who thrives on a constant adrenaline high, and who is determined to keep herself free from personal commitments, made up her mind that she couldn’t be parted with this man.  

Cogan eventually moved to New York, sold her cameras “but never her Leica”, and joined ABC.  She has now two children, a boy and a girl.

Cogan writes of her children:

“You kind of have to wonder why it took my son less than four years to own one of the truths I had to spend more than two decades figuring out.  Just ask him. He’ll tell you. The secret to a happy life is love.

When he’s old enough, when tiny Sasha’s old enough, I’ll jump on my soapbox and tell them a few more.  Simple truths, like the quest is as important, if not more important, than the goal. Like hearts have a surprising resilience.  Like war is bad.  Like some things in life are inexplicable, and many others are ambiguous.  Like not everyone can be saved.  Like sex can either be beautiful or ugly but never both simultaneously.  Like reading and travelling teach us more than we can ever learn in school.  Like girls have it tougher than boys, still, and that owing to such things as body mass and the mechanics of rape, perhaps always will.  Like babies should be born only to people who are ready for such a colossal responsibility.  Like parenthood – a parenthood sown of planning and love – is by far and away the most profound experience life holds.”

Shutterbabe reads like a travelogue/Time extended feature article/Charlie’s Angels. At the end, we’re ready for a sequel.