Wisdom of The Sages

Connie Reider photographed and interviewed wise elders in their 90's as they reviewed their lives and shared their legacies. Their stories illuminate Connie's own personal journey through life-threatening illness. This book, illustrated with Connie's exquisite landscape photographs is about how the act of celebrating beauty and a life well-lived can be particularly life-affirming as we face our mortality.

Connie Reider harvests the wisdom that can be accessed in reviewing a life well-lived, through photographs and interviews with elders in their 90's. These life reviews illuminate Connie's own journey through a life-threatening illness. During a long career as a photographer, Connie has used photography as a tool for celebrating and reflecting beauty, and this heart-opening book is illustrated with inspiring fine art photographs that are a balm for the soul.

Connie Zucker Reider is a portrait and fine art photographer based in the Washington D.C. area. In her book, "Shadow and Light: Looking for the Gifts of Cancer," she uses her camera to express the profound changes she experienced during her personal journey with breast cancer. She co-founded the F. Holland Day Center for Healing and Creativity in Georgetown, Maine, where she served as Creative Director, leading retreats for women with cancer. Connie established "INscape, The Healing Art of Photography" offering retreats in personal growth, cancer survivorship, and aging. In 2013, she began "Wise Elders", interviewing and photographing men and women over the age of 90. She trained as a spiritual director through Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and uses the wisdom harvested from 72 years of life experience to support others on their life journey. Connie lives in Annapolis, MD, and loves, and is loved by her three kids, Abbey, Rachel, and Jamie, her two granddaughters, Ellery and Aubrey, and her partner Rick.