Until Now — My Picture by Maneesha, age 12

A Labor of Love: Anne Geddes, an autobiography

As I was preparing for this book, I thought it would be wonderful to show Maneesha, as she is today, a beautiful twelve-year-old. I recently asked her how she felt now, looking at the photograph of herself when she was so tiny and whether she would like to write something personal for A Labor of Love...

"Anne says that to her a great image is one that you can look at for a long, long time. I often gaze at the image of myself in Jack's big hand, and wonder how I could ever have been so small. To be honest, it's really hard to believe it's actually me.

Of course I don't remember anything from that time, but in my mind I have a picture of a 'gentle giant' holding me so very tenderly. My mother has told me how nervous Jack felt when he had to hold my tiny and fragile body, but I think he did a wonderful job.

Over the years my parents have told me many stories about the time when I was born and everything that happened. But I still used to wonder what all the fuss was about. Now that I am older and can understand a bit more — the word 'miracle' really has special meaning for me.

I'm just an ordinary twelve year old, not different to my friends, except I guess I am very aware of how lucky I have been since the day I was born so prematurely; lucky that I had such wonderful medical care and also to have such a beautiful image to look back on.

My school friends think it's really cool that I was such a small baby. They say they can't believe it's really me in that photograph. My little nine-year-old brother Aakash sometimes gets a bit jealous, but on the other hand I know he tells everyone he has a famous sister!

I'm so proud that my photograph has been in lots of books and nearly around the world, so I guess I can say that I am a little bit famous, even if people don't know me, but especially for those people who do know me. These are strange feelings, but it is nice to have the attention sometimes. Thankfully though everyone still treats me the same and that's the best thing!

Perhaps everything I have been through has been worthwhile. If I had not come into the world so early, I wouldn't have been fortunate enough to have met Anne, who from day one has been a big part of my life and really has made me feel so special. Thank you Anne for continuing to be a part of my life, as I grow." —Maneesha

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Contact: Kathy Hilliard, Publicity Director, (800) 851-8923, ext. 6741, khilliard@amuniversal.com

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