said she wanted my show ready by the end of August.”
That lit a fire under Dr. Auerbach. The students were set to read
the book, see the exhibit and then sit down with both the author
and the artist, but first he had to finish what he’d started years ago.
It took most of the summer as he immersed himself in hundreds
of photographs, eventually narrowing down his images to the most
striking few dozen and adding captions to each.
The show was a great success. “People can recognize when they’re
being seen, when they’re being understood in a kind way,” Dr.
Auerbach said. “At St. Catharine, a woman came up to me and
said she really liked the show. She said, ‘I’m two years in recovery.
I’ve thought these thoughts. I’ve felt these feelings. I’ve done these
things and you presented them in a way that’s kind and clarifies
that choice. I can choose to do this or that. I wish I’d had these in
recovery because my mind was too foggy to realize some of these
things.’ That’s the kind of feedback I’ve gotten.”
With the sketch complete and the feedback incredibly positive,
Dr. Auerbach began to investigate how he could bring his work
to a larger audience and receive feedback more from those who