The "SOME PEOPLE" Essays
Love, Health, Family and Luck by Alyssa Schukar | Edited by Kimberly J. Soenen
(Mom. Photo by Alyssa Schukar.)
I was born into a practical, salt-of-the-earth family in Nebraska, who typically shy away from being in front of the camera. They prefer to be behind the scenes.
After his retirement, Dad started an organization that offers free handyman work to those in need in the rural Texas community where they now live.
Last month, he designed and built an access ramp for an elderly couple at his church. If your family has a health emergency, my mom will make and bring you dinner for a week.
My family is now scattered across the United States, so our time together feels more precious when we do gather. When my nieces were born a few years ago, I became the de facto family documentarian, a role I cherish because it helps me stay in the moment. This photographic practice has become especially important to me as my father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis becomes more evident. I’m interested in capturing the sense of vulnerability I feel in my parents, made all the more poignant after my father spent nearly a week in the ICU in 2018 following a viral infection.
Dad is Nebraska-stubborn and tries to conceal the impact of his illness, but I’ve seen him change. As a child, I knew him to be a reliably present and stoic man, the studious son of an ironworker. Today, he’s distracted and more emotional, which are the byproducts of both the illness and aging.
This transformation—this weakening of our family bedrock—has startled my entire family.
(Dad. Photo by Alyssa Schukar.)
After more than 40 years together, my mom fears what life will be like without her best friend. As we all age, as adult children, we see our parents more fully. We witness the fragility and vulnerability they, for the most part, concealed from us as children. This realization is beautiful and extremely painful at once.
But Dad is still extremely practical. During a visit home years ago, he told me the family didn’t have to worry about long-term care for my parents; he’d been setting aside money for this purpose over the course of his working life and was prepared for forthcoming medical costs, he believed.
I felt relieved by this but a little guilty, too.
They’re not a burden. I will be present for them in the years ahead as they have been for me and my brothers throughout our lives.
We are lucky.
ABOUT
Alyssa Schukar is a Washington, D.C.-based visual storyteller, photographer, writer, licensed drone pilot and educator. She regularly publishes work in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and works for nonprofits that include Feeding America and the Mellon Foundation. Her work has been honored by Pictures of the Year International, NPPA's Best of Photojournalism, and World Press Photo, among others.
Alyssa is a native of the Great Plains, a very proud auntie and an avid reader. In 2019, Alyssa co-launched Prism Photo Workshop with two colleagues, which provides support and advocacy for young photographers of diverse backgrounds. She has served as a co-director and returning faculty member at the Missouri Photo Workshop, which connects early-career photographers with industry leaders who guide them through the process of narrative, documentary storytelling. She speaks internationally on photography and visual storytelling and has been exhibited widely.
The 2025 Prism Photo Workshop will be held on Saturday, May 3 at Columbia College in Chicago.