A LIGHT THAT SHINES: FACING DEATH, FINDING BEAUTY

The video link was shared with this comment from a friend: “This is what true beauty looks like.” After watching "A Light That Shines," we have to agree. The 15-minute documentary, directed by Hailey Bartholomew, tells the story of Jill Brzezinski-Conley, a 35-year-old woman who is facing the end of her life with exceptional beauty and grace.

Brzezinski-Conley survived breast cancer and a double mastectomy just six months after her wedding, only to receive a terminal diagnosis when the cancer metastasized to her bone. She began to redefine her ideas about beauty when she declined to wear prostheses. She then asked a friend, photographer Nikki Closser, to portray her scarred body in its natural, unretouched state, to show what cancer can look like and to affirm that bodies can be beautiful regardless.

When Sue Bryce, an award-winning portrait photographer, saw Closser’s photos, she invited Brzezinski-Conley and Bartholomew to a fantasy fashion shoot in Paris. Five days of pampering, primping, and posing in gorgeous dresses against the romantic backdrop of the city lifted Brzezinski-Conley up to a place where she could forget about the cancer and simply feel the power of beauty.

"A Light That Shines" encourages us to feel deeply beautiful and sexy despite our illnesses, scars, and imperfections. Watch it here now.