No Partner Required.

Mary waited 1,033 days to become a mother.

Not because she was unsure.

Not because she was incomplete.

Because life — and faith — asked her to surrender every timeline she thought she needed.

In 2020, she began the adoption process alone. Through years of waiting, prayer, heartbreak, healing, and trust, she kept saying yes to a life she could not yet see.

Then came Dylan.

A son whose name means “Son of the Sea,” arriving after years of prayer by the water, where she says God continually reminded her that she was already loved, already chosen, already enough.

Today I photographed Mary and Dylan for my series No Partner Required — stories about women who chose motherhood outside the traditional narrative.

Not stories about lack.

Stories about love.

About courage.

About becoming fully alive.

There are many ways to build a family. This is one of them.