Another Me

My memoir, Another Me, takes the reader from the provincial brick paving of Main Street in Oxford, Ohio to the broad boulevards of Paris and the curving avenues of London. As a twenty-two-year-old, I left my parents 1846 clapboard house on Church Street, escaping the confines of life in a small college town but not the responsibilities of leading an independent life. With my college degree in hand, a one-way boat ticket and three hundred borrowed dollars, I crossed the Atlantic and arrived alone in Paris. It was September 1954 and the sites and sound of Paris instantly captivated me. Determined to make the "City of Lights" my home, I began a job search. However, after more than two months, I had only rejections. Nearly out of funds but still intent on living my dream, I joined friends from the Ryndam, our Holland-American steamship that crossed the Atlantic, for a Sunday afternoon walk. Fred, a would-be expatriate novelist, part of the group, brought his former wife, a Chanel model, who gave me the name of a fashion photographer. When phoned, the photographer agreed to see me the next day. With no idea of what to expect from this meeting, I arrived at the studio to be greeted by the client, an executive from Revillon furs, with a cargo of mink and fox furs to be photographed. Then, as they say in Hollywood, "lights, camera, action" and I entered the world of haute couture as a fashion photographer's model. The result of my first photos appeared in December on several pages and on the cover of l'Art et la Mode, a prominent French fashion magazine. From this beginning, I became a Vogue model and my career was launched. I signed a contract with a modeling agent in London and began to live in the two cities, Paris and London, both of which I found exciting and fascinating. In April, as I was preparing to show a collection at the fashion house of the famous couturier, Coco Chanel, I met the man I would marry. He was visiting Paris with fellow Rhodes Scholars, all on spring vacation from Oxford University. The story of our romantic courtship and our marriage end the memoir. There is much more to the story. My husband, a successful journalist and novelist, and I led a life charged with diversity and the financial chaos of freelancing. We had five children and in every way, a busy and fulfilling life. But that is another boo This is my first book. The title, Another Me, refers to the magic of the camera that, with its single eye, creates something unique. It adds approximately twenty pounds to the human frame, magnifies small, regular features–and can create beauty where only prettiness exists. Incredulous viewers, looking at my photo in a magazine, often asked me, "Is that really you?" Yes, "another me." For more information contact: Ann Montgomery Brower at 805-684-1809. Another Me, a memoir, was published October 22, 2008 by iUniverse Press and is illustrated with over twenty professional fashion photos and magazine covers of the author.