This book depicts people at some of the most emotional moments of their lives. For more than seven years Anders Ryman traveled the world documenting life cycle rituals. The result is a book that in intimate and stunning pictures portrays more than thirty rituals from all parts of the globe.

The rites range from the blessing of the newborn in a small village in Spain to a girl's initiation into womanhood among the Apaches of Arizona; from the Xhosa male initiation ceremony in South Africa to the communion with the dead during Todos Santos in Bolivia; from a woman's first childbirth in Palau to the wedding ceremonies in the Shinto shrines of Tokyo.

This book is about the journey through life, about cultural diversity and what unites us all as human beings.