1 | Purenudism Nudist Foto Collection. Part

Elara looked at the billboard, then down at her own soft belly, still smelling faintly of lake water and sunshine. She smiled.

"First-timer?" Peg asked, her eyes crinkling.

It took three months. Three months of reading forums, watching YouTube testimonials from plus-sized women and burn survivors and old men with bad knees. They all said the same thing: The first five minutes are hell. Then, something shifts. The retreat was called Sunstone Grove, nestled in a valley in the Ozarks. Elara drove there on a Friday in late May, her car packed with towels, sunscreen, and a racing heart. At the check-in cabin, a grandmotherly woman named Peg handed her a lanyard. Purenudism Nudist Foto Collection. Part 1

"Honey, your knuckles are white just holding that pen. Here’s a tip: don't rip the bandage off slow. It hurts more. Just get undressed, fold your clothes neatly, and walk toward the lake. Don't stand there looking at your own feet."

"How can you tell?" she asked.

Elara nodded. "It really is."

This body has carried a child, she reminded herself. This body has walked through fire and grief. This body is not an apology. Elara looked at the billboard, then down at

Then she threw her shapewear into the gas station trash can and drove home with the windows down, the wind on her bare arms, feeling lighter than she had in years.