Promise showcases Sean Palfrey’s portraits of children and young people – joyful, curious, resilient – pairing images gathered over decades with compassionate, reflective stories.

With Promise, the latest title in Sean Palfrey’s photography series, the photographer-physician draws on his immense archive to present a suite of portraits of children and young people from across the world. Enriched with the author’s reflections on the stories that these pictures embody, the photographs gathered here span decades and continents, from Boston to Bali, from China to Chile. These are images of joy, curiosity, wonder and spontaneity – but also of resilience and grace in adversity. Every page attests to Palfrey’s fascination with the lives of the young, to whom he has devoted himself as a pediatric doctor and healthcare professional.