“Our mission at The Carter Center has taken us to many places Gail has visited and photographed. Those experiences help us better understand and embrace our similarities as well as our differences.”
– Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
“Gail and I share the same values about our place in the world as well as a sincere appreciation and respect for all cultures. Gail’s experiences and photography show us the relevance of the world, and through our work and storytelling, we both aim to provide creative insights into the fascinating cultures that make up our rich global community.”
– Andrew Zimmern, Emmy-winning TV personality and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods franchise
Gail Shore grew up in Wisconsin during an era that provided few opportunities for girls. Then, in the late 1960s, with no vision or plans for her future, she took her first trip abroad, never dreaming how cultural travel would irreversibly change her life.
Gail’s solo trips would eventually take her through five decades and nearly 100 countries, including to destinations as intriguing and unfamiliar as North Korea, Iran, the Amazon, and even Timbuktu. Opening My Cultural Lens is the account of her lifetime on the road—an illuminating exploration of the traditions, rituals, and cultures of some of the world’s most remote and fascinating populations.
Using history and humor, Opening My Cultural Lens is both a celebration of diversity, and a poignant reminder that we are, in fact, more alike than different. By chronicling the many faces of our shared human experience, Opening My Cultural Lens takes a hammer to stereotypes and cultural barriers, revealing a world lusher and more precarious than we may know.