In college, after 20 odd years of being too fat, I firmly believed that my brain and my body were two separate entities. As one of my housemates put it at the time -- "If I didn't have a body, my brain would get cold." As in "all of this flesh is here to keep the most important part of me from freezing."

In the intervening years, I've lost weight, found it again, had two babies, lost weight again, and, ultimate, reached some level of acceptance of how my brain and my body are one, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. 

My former housemate has been on the same journey, minus the babies. So have most of the women I've known. And so will most of the girls -- my daughter included -- I know. No matter how much we try to model healthy behavior, there is just too much pressure on girls to hate their bodies. 

But it's changing. That same housemate sent me a link to Rosanne Olson's This is Who I Am, a collection of nude photos and raw essays about and by women. Some, like Ellen (pictured), I want to grow up to be. Some I want to just hug and hope for the best. For a taste, you can see a mini gallery at Olson's site as well as read a review.

This is Who I Am would be good coffee table fodder, if not only for the pictures but also for the conversations it will spark.